4 Georgia men arrested, charged in Cedar Park vape shop robbery
Four Georgia men were arrested and charged Friday in connection with the robbery of a Cedar Park vape shop last month, the Cedar Park Police Department said in a release.
Ashton Patrick George, 17, Brandon Lovett Thomas, 31, Jakai Tyere Lewis, 18, and John Ben Frazier, 19, are facing two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of engaging in organized crime in Williamson County. The men will face criminal charges in Georgia before being extradited to Williamson County, said Alicia Gallagher, a Cedar Park police spokesperson.
Cedar Park police responded to a 911 call on March 14 reporting the robbery of an employee at gunpoint at Black Rock Vape, 251 North Bell Blvd.
The robbery victim, who was not identified, told officers he had attended an event in Austin that day and was approached by the four men who asked about buying “exotic flowers.” The victim said he then took the men to the vape shop, the statement said.
When they arrived at the store, the victim told police the men pulled out guns and robbed him, taking his phone, money from the safe and register along with numerous vape products. Police believe the men went to the vape shop with the intent to rob the business based on their actions observed in a surveillance video, Gallagher said.
While investigating the crime, officials identified the four men, and learned they were affiliated with a gang in Georgia, the statement said. Members of the Police Department’s major crimes unit traveled to Georgia to aid the investigation. Together with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s gang task force, the Dekalb County Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the combined law enforcement agencies served search warrants and arrest warrants on April 5 to 20 gang members, including the four men implicated in the Cedar Park robbery, the statement said. During the searches, officials said, police found a stockpile of weapons, drugs and money.
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are expected to be filed in Georgia, with the prosecution to be handled by the DeKalb County district attorney’s office, the release said.