Two Teenagers Charged With Robbery Store Heist

EAST AUSTIN, TX -- Two men have been arrested for allegedly robbing an East Austin jewelry store over the weekend.

Police say Lavall Hendricks and Davante Sims, both 18, entered the Three Diamonds jewelry store on Jan. 16 at about 2:20 p.m. pretending to be customers. Unbeknownst to them, an employee already had contacted police after their behavior was deed suspicious, according to an Austin American-Statesman reports.

When police arrived, they found three store workers zip-tied on the floor and the two masked suspects trying to flee through a back door of the business.

The responding officers detained the pair before they were able to escape, according to an arrest affidavit.

In her statement to police, the store owner said Sims asked to see a watch behind a glass case. While she retrieved it, Hendricks jumped over the counter while pointing a semi-automatic pistol at her and two other employees.

Sims sprayed the business owner with mace several times as she tried in vain to retreat, and then removed $140 from the cash register, according to the affidavit.

Hendricks was subsequently charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, a first degree felony. Sims was charged with aggravated robbery and resisting arrest.

The arrests came just one day after another teenager was arrested on similar charges. On Friday, a 15-year-old male was apprehended after being charged with robbing several mobile phone stores throughout the city, including locations at William Cannon Drive, Slaughter Lane, Westgate, SH 71, Brodie and S. Interstate-35.

In that case, the suspect led police on a high-speed chase reaching up to 90 mph that began in South Austin and ended up on Guadalupe Street near the UT-Austin campus.