Update:
Three Houston area residents accused of a Saturday afternoon shoplifting at College Station’s Academy store also involved one of the suspects pointing a gun at a citizen who blocked the suspect’s vehicle from driving away.
According to the College Station police arrest report, the citizen moved his truck and the suspects drove out of the parking lot and got on the freeway.
Multiple CSPD officers and a DPS trooper were involved in stopping the getaway car south of town along Highway 6 at the Westward Ho exit.
One of the women who went into Academy, 26 year old DeAngela Merrell of Houston, admits owning but denies pulling out a .380 caliber handgun from a glove box and threatening the citizen. Merrell was arrested on a charge of aggravated robbery.
The other woman who went into Academy, 17 year old Nardia Carr of Spring, and the driver of the getaway car, 31 year old Juvernia Mitchell of Houston, were charged with misdemeanor theft.
Officers recovered $624 dollars of merchandise from Academy, along with clothing items from Dillard’s and Marshall’s.
Original story:
College Station police report a Saturday afternoon shoplifting at the Academy store also involved one of three suspects pointing a gun at a citizen who blocked the suspect’s vehicle from driving away.
According to a CSPD news release, the citizen moved his truck and the suspects drove out of the parking lot and got on the freeway.
Officers conducted what was described as a “high risk traffic stop” in the southbound lanes of Highway 6 at Westward Ho.
CSPD defined the high risk stop on its Twitter account as something that “involves the use of “extra precautions when stopping a suspect of a felony offense (with probable cause), or when an occupant is believed to be armed and presents a danger to officers.”
CSPD tells WTAW News there was no vehicle pursuit.
Two women who went into the store and a man who drove the getaway vehicle were taken into custody without incident.
News release from College Station police:
On Saturday, October 5, 2019, at about 4:46 p.m. we received calls about an Aggravated Robbery at Academy Sports & Outdoors, 2511 Earl Rudder Freeway South. A store manager had followed two females into the parking lot as he tried stopping them for shoplifting. As the females joined a male in a waiting vehicle, a citizen who had observed the interaction between the manager and the females moved his truck to try to block the suspects’ vehicle. That’s when a suspect pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the citizen, demanding he move his truck (which he did).
The suspects then left the Academy parking lot. Officers were able to locate the suspect vehicle as it traveled southbound on State Highway 6 and initiate a high-risk traffic stop. The suspect vehicle stopped and all three suspects were detained without incident.
The incident remains under active investigation. The public is not in any danger. More details will be released via Twitter @CSTXPolice as they become available.
