Pflugerville HEB Roughed Up After Trying To Stop Suspect Leaving With Toy Without Paying

PFLUGERVILLE, TX — The holidays can get ugly. Just ask an HEB employee who was assaulted over a toy car a suspect is accused of trying to shoplift.

The incident occurred Dec. 22, the details laid out in an newly released arrest affidavit cited by the Austin American-Statesman.

According to said affidavit, police got a call of an assault at the HEB Store located at 201 FM 685 at around 4:30 p.m. The caller reported that the male suspect attacked a store employee, roughing him up pretty good.

It all began when a store employee ran after Cody Eugene Sykes, 23, as he walked out of the store with a $29 remote-controlled toy car for which he insisted he had already paid. The employee disagreed with that assertion, and a confrontation ensued. Sykes told police the HEB employee was the aggressor, making physical contact with him, prompting him to put the store worker in a headlock, according to the affidavit.

It was ultimately determined that Sykes hadn't paid for the item, evidenced when police asked him to produce a receipt and not being able to do so. What's more, Sykes already was well beyond the point of sale when the employee approached him.

The upshot: Sykes now faces a robbery charge, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Which means that what began as a $29 toy car could become exponentially more expensive.

According to Travis County Jail records, Sykes was booked into the facility with a bond set at $25,000.

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