An unidentified man walked into a South Vidor convenience store and pulled a gun on the store clerk and demanded money late last Thursday night. The man made off with an undisclosed amount of money, but no one was hurt during the alleged criminal incident.
According to Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll, shortly before 11:00 p.m., the night clerk at the Falls Convenience Store at 1914 South Main Street in Vidor was alone in the store, cleaning the floor and straightening up the merchandise racks in preparation for the store closure. A man dressed in a black hoodie walked into the sales area of the store. The store clerk reported to police that the man pulled out what appeared to be a dark in color semiautomatic pistol from his pocket and aimed it at the clerk. The clerk told police that the suspect ordered the clerk to go behind the cashier’s counter and to give him the money that was in the cash register.
The clerk complied with the robber’s demands and the suspect took the money and left through the front door of the store. The clerk could see that the suspect did not get in a vehicle, but instead, started walking north in front of the store towards the Union Pacific Railroad track with the cash.
Responding police began searching for the suspect, who they suspected to be on foot. Officers could find no sign of the suspect on the streets and neighborhoods near the convenience store.
Police summoned their drug and tracking police dog, K-9 Officer Rocky, and his handler to sniff out the area around the store. K-9 Officer Rocky was able to detect the trail of the suspect along the north side of the store going toward the rear of the building. Rocky was able to follow the trail of the suspect as the suspect walked north towards the railroad tracks, staying behind the package store and other businesses on South Main Street as he made his way to the tracks. The K-9 Officer continued to trail the suspect’s scent west along the railroad tracks until the scent trail got to Dogwood Drive where the scent vanished. It is unclear if the suspect removed his shoes, to throw off the dog’s sense of smell, or if he got into a vehicle on Dogwood.
The suspect’s track was lost in the area of Dogwood Drive and the railroad tracks. The police investigation into this alleged criminal incident is on going at press time.
Anyone with information about this alleged robbery is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (409) 833-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information leading to the identification and prosecution of the suspect.