HOUSTON – Police are looking for two robbers who took a store manager on an unexpected ride in their getaway car when he tried to stop them from stealing beer.
It happened at a Valero convenience store at 2800 Reed Road near Highway 288 on Sept. 19.
Store security video shows a man walking into the store and taking two cases of beer out of the cooler. He walked to the counter, but didn’t stop, sprinting out to join a friend in a waiting car.
The store’s manager and a clerk, who both asked not to be named, ran after him. The store manager jumped into the car’s rear seat while the clerk confronted the driver, attempting to grab him through the car window.
When she did, he violently twisted her arm, forcing her to back away.
WATCH: Surveillance video of clerk jumping into beer thief getaway car
“I was trying to hold him, and he twisted my arm, and that was it,” she said.
As she backed away, the driver sped off with her boss still in the back seat.
The store manager said the two suspects drove through the neighborhood at speeds up to 100 mph. As they did, he said, they threatened to beat him. When the driver slowed to make a turn, the manager jumped out. He was bruised, but not badly hurt.
Detective Will West, a robbery detective with the Houston Police Department, said the manager was lucky to walk away.
“I understand that’s his stuff and he doesn’t want anyone to steal it,” West said. “But at end of the day, that’s material things. We can replace a case of beer. We can replace a purse. We can’t replace you.”
West is trying to identify the suspects from the store’s security video. Police are asking anyone who can identify either suspect to call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477. A reward is being offered.
When the two men are located, they’re likely to face charges more serious than misdemeanor shoplifting. Both can expect to be charged with felony robbery and possibly kidnapping, according to police.
