A local man who allegedly threatened a store employee during a shoplifting attempt found out the hard way that he couldn’t outrun the eye in the sky.
The Pleasanton Police Department arrested a 29-year-old man Thursday on robbery charges after he was spotted by a police drone while attempting to hide from patrol officers.
The investigation began Jan. 19 when officers were called to the Walmart in the 2100 block of West Oaklawn Road. According to investigators, a man selected multiple items and tried to leave the store without paying. When a Walmart asset protection employee confronted him, the suspect allegedly threatened the employee with bodily injury before fleeing the scene.
Under Texas law, a theft charge is elevated to robbery when a suspect causes or threatens bodily injury during the commission of the crime.
Detectives spent the following weeks interviewing witnesses to identify the suspect. On Feb. 5, authorities secured an arrest warrant for the Pleasanton resident.
The suspect’s run from the law ended less than an hour after the warrant was broadcast to patrol units. Officers spotted him walking in the 500 block of Trade Street, prompting the man to duck behind a nearby property to conceal himself.
He was unaware, however, that the department had already deployed a drone to track his movements. Using the aerial footage, detectives and patrol officers closed in and took the man into custody without further incident.
The suspect was transported to the Atascosa County Jail, where he remains on a charge of robbery.
