SAN ANTONIO – A man was accused of stealing Yeti coolers from an Academy in Selma and threatening an employee with a stun gun, according to records.
An arrest warrant affidavit states that Michael Anthony Patino, 32, went to the store in the 15300 block of Interstate 35 North on Aug. 11 and grabbed two yeti Hopper coolers, which retail for at least $250 each.
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He was about to leave the store without paying for the items when an employee confronted him just inside the front door, investigators said.
Police said he pulled out a stun gun and activated it, showing an electrical arc. The employee backed off and Patino left the store and drove off in a maroon Chevrolet HHR, police said.
Surveillance footage captured the license plate of the vehicle, but when investigators showed up at the registered owner’s residence, they discovered that they had one of their license plates stolen from their HHR and no evidence from the robbery was found at that location.
The HHR with the stolen license plate was traced to the South Side through a license plate scanner search.
Police spotted Patino driving the vehicle and he matched the description of the man seen in the Academy surveillance video. Police also found a stun gun in the front cup holder.
He was taken into custody on active warrants.
When interviewed by police, Patino admitted to stealing the coolers and selling them on OfferUp later that day.
He said he had the stun gun in case someone “put hands on him,” the affidavit states.
Patino was charged with robbery, records show.
The affidavit states that Patino may be connected to another robbery at an Academy in San Antonio. In that incident, the robber also used a stun gun.
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