On a Wednesday afternoon in Houston, a refusal to hand over a cigarette escalated into a violent confrontation, ending in a robbery with bodily injury, according to the Houston Police Department's Robbery Division, who are now seeking public help to catch the culprits involved in this crime that left one person attacked and without a wallet.
According to the department's website, the incident, which took place on June 12, around 5:00 pm, at a convenience store located on the 7400 block of Cullen, began benignly enough, with several young males approaching a customer who was at that moment engaged in the mundane act of making a purchase and requesting a cigarette, only to be denied then this simple transaction deteriorated with swift and startling ferocity, as the young men lying in wait outside assaulted the customer on foot from the crime scene, leaving their victim behind in a state of shock and dispossession.
The story took a surprising turn when one suspect, a mere 13-year-old boy, brazenly returned to the site of the attack while the wounded party was reporting the crime, only to be apprehended by officers of the Houston Police, leading to his arrest on charges of robbery with bodily injury, yet three accomplices remain at large, their identities hidden in the sprawling anonymity of the city. The police are actively looking for these suspects, with descriptions including a black male in a black shirt and multicolored pants, another black male sporting a black shirt and gray shorts, and a third in a black hoodie and blue shorts, as detailed on the department's robbery website.
The Houston Police encourage anyone with information about this robbery to come forward, reminding the public that their assistance is not just civic duty but can also be financially rewarded through Crime Stoppers of Houston which offers up to $5,000 for tips leading to the charging and/or arrest of felony suspects but to qualify for this payment, tipsters must engage directly with Crime Stoppers by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitting an online tip at their website, or by using the Crime Stoppers mobile app, and do so anonymously.
