LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -
Lufkin Police officers arrested a 24-year-old man Sunday after he allegedly attempted to rob the Polk's Pick-It-Up Store where he once worked.
Along with the Dec. 4, 2012 attempted robbery, a surveillance video also showed the suspect allegedly entering the store about five hours later, hiding what appeared to be a beer in his jacket, and leaving the store without paying.
Jesse Charles Carlin, of Lufkin is still being held in the Angelina County Jail on an attempted robbery charge, which is a third-degree felony. His bond has been set at $5,000.
According to an arrest affidavit issued by the Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace office, the alleged attempted robbery took place at Polk's #23 located at 909 S. Medford Drive on Dec. 4, 2012. The two clerks working at the store that day said a man later identified as Carlin approached them and said he "needed all the money in the register."
When one clerk asked Carlin if he was serious, he allegedly replied, "Unless you want a (expletive) in your face," according to the affidavit.
Thinking quickly, one of the clerks bluffed Carlin into believing an Angelina County Sheriff's Office deputy was in the back the store when in reality, the individual was an ACSO jailer.
The affidavit stated Carlin then told the clerk that he "was just joking" and left the store.
During their investigation of the attempted robbery, detectives with the Lufkin Police Department brought in a loss prevention officer for the Brookshire Brothers and Polk's stores to look at the surveillance camera footage from that day. He identified Carlin as a former employee of Polk's #23, who had resigned a few weeks earlier.
The surveillance footage backed up what the two clerks told police. In addition, it allegedly showed Carlin entering the store approximately five hours later. After he hid what appeared to be a single beer in his jacket, he quickly left the store without paying.
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Jesse Carlin (Source: Angelina County Jail)
