A shoplifting run for turkey meat and pain reliever at a West El Paso Albertsons turned into a felony robbery case after the suspect allegedly threw a trash can at a store employee while trying to get away. The incident happened on September 10 at the Albertsons located at 7022 N. Mesa St., and the suspect remains unidentified more than three weeks later.
According to KTSM 9 News, a store loss prevention employee noticed the suspect inside the Albertsons and confronted him outside after he left with a package of Hillshire Farm oven roasted turkey and a bottle of Tylenol gelcaps. As the suspect tried to run, he fell, and then allegedly hit the employee with a trash can before fleeing the scene, per Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers of El Paso has publicized the case as its Crime of the Week, asking the community for help identifying the man now wanted in connection with the incident.
How a Shoplifting Attempt Becomes a Felony
The items taken — a package of lunch meat and a bottle of pain reliever — are not assigned a value here. Under Texas Penal Code Section 31.03, theft of property valued under $100 is a Class C misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $500 and no jail time, according to Deandra Grant Law.
But the alleged use of force against the loss prevention employee changes everything. Texas Penal Code Section 29.02 states that committing theft while intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury or threatening bodily harm elevates simple theft to robbery, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, per the Benjamin Law Firm. Texas law also includes acts committed during immediate flight after a theft within the scope of robbery, meaning the alleged trash-can throw outside the store — rather than the shoplifting itself — is what pushed the charge into felony territory.
Had the suspect caused serious bodily injury or used an object classified as a deadly weapon during the encounter, the charge could have escalated further still. Under Penal Code Section 29.03, that scenario becomes aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison, according to the Strauss Law Firm.
The Attempted Intervention
The loss prevention employee confronted the suspect outside the store after he left with the items. The suspect allegedly threw a trash can at the employee while trying to flee.
It is not the first time a trash can has featured in a local retail crime this year. Crime Stoppers of El Paso also publicized a separate incident on February 26 at a West El Paso Circle K in which a suspect used a store trash can to collect and carry away multiple cases of alcohol, according to a post from KFOX14.
Suspect Description and How to Submit Tips
Crime Stoppers describes the suspect as roughly 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build, long hair, and a mustache. The Albertsons sits along North Mesa near Resler Drive, a commercial stretch serving the Mesa Hills and Coronado Country Club Park neighborhoods, and falls under the jurisdiction of the El Paso Police Department's Westside Regional Command Center, which oversees patrols and initial incident reports across West El Paso.
Tipsters can reach Crime Stoppers of El Paso's 24-hour anonymous line at 915-566-8477 or submit information through the online portal at cselpaso.org. Callers remain anonymous throughout the process and may qualify for a cash reward if their tip leads to an arrest, per Ysleta ISD. Founded in 1978, Crime Stoppers of El Paso was the first certified Crime Stoppers program in Texas and the second chapter formed nationally, and the organization says it has paid out more than $1 million in rewards while tips have led to 4,450 arrests and 5,707 cleared cases since its inception.
Part of a Pattern Along El Paso's Retail Corridors
This case joins a string of recent Crime Stoppers appeals tied to West and Northwest El Paso retailers. Hoodline previously reported on a suspect who vaulted a counter at a Northwest El Paso Bass Pro Shops to steal two Garmin GPS units, as well as a separate burglary at an East El Paso OXXO store, both of which remain open investigations seeking public tips. Investigators have not said whether surveillance footage from inside the Albertsons has helped narrow down a suspect in this latest case.
