MARLIN, TX — Marlin citizens helped a store clerk stop a 22-year-old man from stealing cartons of cigarettes.
The Falls County Sheriff's office said Rafael Hernandez went into the back room of the AJ's Chevron Drive Thru and took cigarettes that valued at several hundred dollars and put them in his backpack.
The clerk tried to stop Hernandez as he tried to leave the store, but Hernandez broke free and dragged the clerk outside and onto the concrete pavement, officials said.
Several customers then came to help and were able to gain control of Hernandez until police arrived.
The sheriff's office said when law enforcement arrived, Hernandez was being held against a car by several customers and the clerk.
Marlin Fire and EMS were called to check on customers and the clerk who had been dragged by Hernandez, officials said.
Hernandez was later booked into the Falls County Jail for robbery. He has since been released on a $10,000 bond.
