Lufkin Robber Caught By Purple Mask

When you are committing robberies all over the same 50-mile radius, you might want to get a different mask. According to KTRE, Eric Demone Smotherman, 49, of Lufkin was booked on Monday for aggravated robbery.

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He was out on bond for a 2023 aggravated robbery, but is now back behind bars after allegedly robbing convenience stores on both sides of the Angelina River bridge.

Police don't like to give the exact address of all these stores that have been robbed, so people won't feel unsafe at their corner grocery store, but you can usually figure out which ones they are if you live in the area.

Detectives Put Together Case To Arrest Eric Smotherman

Smotherman wore a very distinctive purple mask when robbing the stores, and all of the robberies had a very similar pattern during the spree. He robbed a store on HWY 69 near Lufkin on March 10th at 10:45 PM.

On April 2nd, another robbery occurred on the other side of the river. It took a Nacogdoches police detective some time to notice a pattern, but he felt several similar crimes in Nacogdoches were all related.

He went back to the crime on March 25th and checked the cameras, and there it was: the same purple mask and red gloves. He had the same pattern with his demands.

Smotherman Toys With Officers And Store Clerks

In both robberies, you never actually see the gun; he just holds his right hand in his hoodie like there is a gun. They even have body camera footage of him interacting with an officer on April 1st when Nacogdoches Police noticed him loitering in the parking lot.

He gave false information to the officers. He claimed that he had never been arrested before and was just there to use the Wifi.

That same day, there is footage of him attempting to rob a store in the 1300 block of South Street in Nacogdoches. When he went to the door and found it locked, he took off the purple mask and showed his face fully to a camera he didn't realize was there.

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Smotherman is now in the Angelina County Jail for two counts of First Degree Felony Aggravated Robbery. Bond is set at $200K.