Suspects arrested in string of Dollar General robberies

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Cameron County Sheriff's Office says it arrested three minors accused of a string of aggravated robberies at a Harlingen Dollar General store.

The first holdup took place at 9:47 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2024, when deputies responded to an armed robbery at the Dollar General store located at the 14000 block of Business 83.

Deputies say the store clerk told them two masked suspects entered the store. One suspect was wearing a camouflage mask, and the other was wearing a clown mask.

Investigators say the suspect wearing the clown mask pointed a gray gun at the clerk. Both suspects are accused of stealing four cases of Michelob Ultra beer before leaving the store on foot.

The second robbery at the same store took place two weeks later at 9:54 p.m. on Jan. 4, when three masked suspects entered the store. The sheriff’s office says two of the suspects were armed.

Again, one of the suspects had on a clown mask, which was captured on surveillance video. The cameras also caught the other juveniles wearing black masks.

The store clerk reported one of the suspects pointed a handgun at him and demanded he open the cash register. The suspects are said to have stolen two cases of beer and two boxes of Swisher Sweet cigars.

"Following an extensive investigation, Cameron County Sheriff’s Office Investigators confirmed that two of the suspects involved in the December robbery were also responsible for the January robbery," Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino said in the release.

During the investigation, authorities were able to identify two juveniles and obtained arrest and search warrants for them.

The Cameron County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division and Special Investigation Unit executed two search warrants on March 7 at the 27000 block of Iowa Circle in Harlingen and the 25000 block of Kansas City Road in La Feria.

Both minors were taken into custody and charged with two counts of aggravated robbery in the first degree.

CCSO investigators later identified the third suspect involved in the second robbery. He was arrested on Wednesday and is being held at the Darrel B. Hester Detention Center in San Benito.