AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department has charged a man with aggravated robbery after he allegedly held a Happy Cloud Smoke Shop employee at gunpoint on July 17.
Police reports state that suspect Ernesto Barrientos, 18, entered the shop on 903 Montopolis Drive around 12:20 p.m. with his gun drawn. He then reportedly pointed the weapon at an employee and demanded money. The victim then complied and joined a fellow employee who was lying on the ground.
Documents state that after the suspect emptied out the register, he asked if there was any more money in the store. He then reportedly stated that if he found any more money, he would shoot both employees.
At one point, one of the victims saw an opportunity to escape and he ran out of the store. When the suspect noticed this, reports state he too fled the scene.
While later reviewing store surveillance, police noticed the suspect had a tattoo depicting a ski-masked figured on the inside of his left forearm with the letters "OMB" above it.
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A day after the incident, one of the employees reported to police that he had located the suspect by searching for "OMB" on Facebook via a public profile with the name of OMB GOON. With this information, police said they found three Facebook profiles belonging to Barrientos.
After running his name through the APD database, police positively identified Barrientos as a documented member of the OMB gang. OMB stands for "Only My Brothers."
Using the photos on his Facebook profiles, police noticed the same tattoo depicted in the surveillance video. Police said he also posted a photo carrying a handgun very similar to the one used in the incident. Additionally, police saw a photo of him with the same black-and-white paisley bandana he had covering his face during the alleged robbery.
Online records indicate Barrientos was booked on July 22.
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