A midday armed robbery at the Exxon at U.S. 90 and FM 770 in the Raywood area left a store clerk pistol-whipped and a female customer shoved to the ground Friday, according to investigators. Deputies say the robber took off on foot and was last seen heading down County Road 119C as law enforcement locked down the scene.
Police response and suspect description
Deputies with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office and troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety rushed to the store after a report of a robbery around 12:05 p.m. Friday, Chief Deputy Billy Knox told Bluebonnet News. Knox described the suspect as a Black male wearing black pants, a blue hoodie, a greenish-black face mask and slide-style shoes. Investigators are now combing through surveillance footage from inside the store in an effort to put a name to the face behind the mask.
What happened inside the store
According to investigators, the robber came at the clerk from behind and struck him with a handgun, then shoved a woman to the floor during the holdup. The female customer was gone by the time deputies arrived. The clerk was rattled but expected to be OK, and authorities were still working to determine how much cash or property was stolen. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Liberty County Sheriff's Office at 936-336-4500.
Neighborhood context
The Exxon stop along the Raywood corridor has seen this kind of trouble before. Bluebonnet News previously reported an armed robbery at a Raywood Exxon in 2021, where investigators again leaned on in-store surveillance to track suspects. Local deputies say tips from residents and video from passing drivers or nearby homes often provide the break that solves rural cases.
By Friday evening, deputies were still canvassing nearby roads while detectives followed up on leads and reviewed camera footage. Anyone who spotted the suspect or captured video along the U.S. 90/FM 770 corridor around midday is urged to call the sheriff's office.
