SAN ANTONIO — Cops were not clowning around when they caught up to a thief they said targeted two northwest-side vape shops last week while wearing a clown mask.
Thomas Ybarra, 37, was arrested and faces three counts of aggravated robbery. According to his arrest warrant, he hit up the Vape City off West Commerce on November 19 and Smoke Tokes off Fredericksburg the next day, November 20.
He is accused of robbing the stores at gunpoint and taking off with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise.
Ahmad Amini owns the Smoke Tokes store. He said this is the second time within a week his store has been targeted by thieves.
He shared the surveillance footage of Ybarra. It showed him walking into the store in regular clothes initially. Investigators said he then went to his car and changed. When he came back inside the store, he was in a hoodie and clown mask. He also had a gun.
Amini’s worker is seen with her arms in the air as Ybarra takes items throughout the store. He eventually left the store and drove away. Amini said his worker called 911 and then called him.
“I feel really bad for her,” Amini said. “When I come to the store, she was crying and saying she got robbed at gunpoint.”
The day before, investigators said Ybarra and another unidentified suspect robbed the Vape City off West Commerce but this time was wearing a joker mask. They said he took off on foot.
But thanks to surveillance footage from the 20th, police located Ybarra’s license plate and tracked him down at his home. He was arrested on November 21.
“They’ve taken action quick, and they got him right away like the next day,” Amini said.
But Amini said this robbery came at a bad time. He owns several other vape shops and within the last year the Fredericksburg location opened.
“It’s kind of hard, hard to survive,” Amini said.