An East Point man was arrested after being accused of hiding a shotgun inside of his hoodie before hitting and robbing a man inside a Gwinnett County gas station.
Justin Alberto Cruz, 25, faces several felonies after the incident at the BP gas station at 6281 Jimmy Carter Boulevard on Wednesday, Norcross police said.
Officers responded to the gas station just after 9 p.m. to find the victim at a nearby HomeTown Suites motel, according to an incident report obtained by AJC.com. The man told officers he had been robbed at gunpoint earlier in the day.
He said he was walking to the gas station from the motel, which is only about 400 feet away, when he heard a man yelling at him from behind, the report said. He turned around to see Cruz, who visibly had a handgun inside his pocket, the victim told police.
Cruz told him the “hotel was his turf and he needed to leave,” the report said.
The victim left but realized he forgot his cellphone inside the motel, so he quickly went inside to get it, the report said. As he was leaving, he said he spotted Cruz holding a shotgun.
Cruz hid the shotgun inside his hoodie as he ran after the victim, who was quickly walking to get inside the gas station, the report said. Once inside, Cruz allegedly pulled out the firearm, forced the victim against some coin game machines and told everyone else to leave.
Soon after, Cruz made the victim walk outside of the BP, which is when he hit the victim in the back of the head and began to rob him, the report said. The victim’s wallet, cellphone, shoes and keys were stolen.
During the attack, the victim was hit multiple times with the shotgun, the report said. The man told officers he was not seriously injured and did not need immediate medical attention.
In a Facebook post, police said they were able to “solve the case in a couple of hours.” Cruz was arrested Thursday.
Cruz faces counts of armed robbery, aggravated assault, obstruction, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, sale of a schedule IV controlled substance, interference with government property and multiple firearm-related charges, according to Gwinnett County jail records.
He remains in jail without bond.
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