SAN ANTONIO – A 36-year-old man is sitting in the Bexar County Jail after he allegedly used a switchblade-type knife to rob the same Eastside convenience store twice within a matter of weeks.
The first robbery occurred March 7 at the Smart Stop, located in the 200 block of North New Braunfels Avenue, where San Antonio police officers responded just after 7:15 a.m.
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Upon arrival, officers found the store’s cashier had been cut twice by a knife and sustained injuries to his face after being punched several times by Damond Paul Ratcliff, according to an arrest affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the cashier told officers that he was opening the business for the day when Ratcliff rushed behind the counter and began fighting with him.
After seriously injuring the man, Ratcliff managed to open the cash register and take the entire drawer containing money before fleeing on foot, according to the affidavit.
Just two weeks later on March 21, SAPD officers were called to the same Eastside store around 8:49 a.m. where Ratcliff demanded money but this time from a different cashier, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states that the cashier observed Ratcliff holding a knife wrapped in a towel in his hand and began pointing it at him.
Fearing for his life, the cashier opened the register and Ratcliff took off with the stolen money, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, SAPD detectives were able to obtain surveillance footage from a nearby business where they saw Ratcliff driving up in a white four-door vehicle.
He was then observed putting on a black jacket and gloves before walking across the street to the Smart Shop store at the same time the robbery was reported, according to the affidavit.
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The affidavit states that SAPD officers arrested Ratcliff on traffic violations after spotting the same vehicle that matched description used in the second robbery just hours before.
The owner of the vehicle positively identified Ratcliff seen in the surveillance footage, telling detectives she was unaware he was going to rob anyone. During a photo lineup, the cashier from the first robbery identified Ratcliff as the person who beat and stabbed him on March 7, according to the affidavit.
On Sunday, prosecutors charged Ratcliff with counts of aggravated robbery and robbery, which are first-degree and second-degree felonies. His bail was set at $200,000.