A masked man walked into the Petro Truck Stop on the East Side of San Antonio just before 2 a.m. on August 18, pulled a handgun, and set it on the counter while demanding money from the register. He grabbed the cash once the drawer opened and fled into the night, leaving investigators searching for his identity.
The robbery happened at the Petro Truck Stop off Ackerman Road near Interstate 10, according to WOAI. Police described the suspect as masked, and investigators have released an image of him as they ask the public for help identifying and locating him. The report does not specify whether he was caught on the store's surveillance cameras or by another witness.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (210) 224-7867. The organization may pay up to $5,000 for tips leading to a felony arrest, and its P3 Tips app allows people to submit information without having their identity recorded, per Crime Stoppers of San Antonio's own description of how its anonymous reporting system works.
A Truck Stop With a Troubled History
This is not the first time the Ackerman Road Petro has found itself at the center of a robbery investigation. In July 2020, San Antonio police searched for a masked robber who targeted the same location around 2 a.m., claimed to have a firearm, and stole cartons of cigarettes before speeding off in a dark vehicle, according to KENS 5.
Two years earlier, in July 2018, two men armed with a handgun robbed the same Petro Truck Stop, threatening the clerk on duty and demanding cash from the register, KSAT reported at the time. And the location's history of violence goes back further still: during a December 2012 robbery at the 1112 Ackerman Road Petro facility, a clerk was shot in the stomach by an armed perpetrator dubbed the “wig-wearing bandit,” according to MySA.
The travel center sits along Interstate 10 and operates as a major 24-hour commercial hub, with 250 truck parking spaces, 12 diesel fuel lanes, and an Iron Skillet restaurant, according to TruckMap's listing for the location. That round-the-clock operation, combined with easy highway access, has made it a recurring target for quick-hit robberies over more than a decade.
What the Suspect Could Face
If caught, the suspect in the August robbery could face serious criminal exposure. Under Texas Penal Code § 29.03, committing a robbery while displaying or using a handgun constitutes aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison, plus fines up to $10,000, according to the L&L Law Group's breakdown of the statute.
Should a tip from Crime Stoppers lead to a conviction, Texas law also allows a judge to order the convicted felon to repay the reward money paid out to the tipster, per Article 37.073 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure as cited by FindLaw.
Part of a Broader Crime Picture
The Ackerman Road robbery comes even as San Antonio has seen violent street crime, including armed robberies, drop 21.1% citywide in 2025 compared to 2024, a decline the city attributes in part to hot-spot policing strategies, according to the San Antonio Report. At the same time, commercial property-related offenses such as shoplifting rose by nearly 42% from 2021 to 2025, per an analysis by the San Antonio Express-News.
Police response times have also improved citywide, with average emergency response reaching 5 minutes and 29 seconds in 2025, down from nearly six minutes the year before, according to KSAT's reporting on the department's year-end figures. It is not clear how quickly officers responded to the August 18 call at the Petro Truck Stop.
For now, the suspect remains at large, and investigators are relying on the public and the promise of anonymity through Crime Stoppers to help close the case.
