Plano Police have arrested two individuals in connection with a robbery at a vape store on March 26, 2025, where suspects threatened a store employee and fled with thousands of dollars in merchandise. Notably, the "gun" used in the robbery was later revealed to be a concealed Nerf gun.
The incident began around 6:00 p.m. when Plano Police Officer T. Sullivan responded to a robbery report in the 1400 block of Los Rios Boulevard. The store employee reported that two masked males had entered, one appearing to conceal a weapon, threatened the victim, and stole approximately $2,500–$3,000 worth of merchandise. The victim suspected one of the robbers was a frequent customer living in a nearby apartment complex and possibly intoxicated.
While Officer Sullivan was gathering information, a separate call came in about an intoxicated person at the very apartment complex where the suspect was believed to live. Officer Sullivan alerted officers on the scene, relaying the suspect description. These officers detained an individual who matched both the intoxicated person's description and the robbery suspect's description. This first suspect was arrested for public intoxication and later charged with the robbery.
The second suspect remained at large, prompting the case to be forwarded to the Plano Police Crimes Against Persons Unit. Detective S. Benjamin was assigned the investigation. Building on Officer Sullivan’s initial report, Detective Benjamin conducted interviews, reviewed video footage, and identified the second masked suspect from previous store visit photos. Her investigation revealed that this second suspect, along with his girlfriend (who was linked to the first suspect), had recently been arrested by Princeton PD, which led to an informative interview. Detective Benjamin then secured a search warrant and recovered shoes matching those worn during the robbery, ultimately securing an arrest warrant for the second suspect.
Plano Police highlighted the case as an example of successful collaboration between their Patrol Division and Criminal Investigations Division, leading to a swift and thorough resolution.
