Verdict In For The 2014 ‘Gotta Habit Smoke Shop’ Robbery, Shooting

Below is a statement from Criminal District Attorney, Wes Mau

The Steven Hernandez trial for the 2014 San Marcos Gotta Habit Smoke Shop Aggravated Robbery ended today with a plea while the jury was still deliberating on Hernandez’s guilt or innocence. During the presentation of evidence, which began on Tuesday of last week, the jury heard evidence about the September 21, 2014, armed robbery of the Gotta Habit Smoke Shop in San Marcos. The jury saw surveillance video of the robbery, which showed Hernandez entering the shop with his face covered, but wearing a distinctive black T-shirt with white lettering. Patrick Reilly, an employee at the Smoke Shop, confronted Hernandez by rushing directly at him while pushing a cardboard display case into Hernandez and then grappling with him. The video showed the two struggling for a short time, until Hernandez was able to bring his pistol to bear and fire a bullet point blank into Reilly’s chest. When Reilly collapsed, Hernandez was able to make his escape.

Reilly survived his wounds, but was unable to identify the robber, who had entered the store wearing dark glasses, a knit cap, and with his shirt pulled up over the lower part of his face. Police, however, discovered the black T-shirt discarded behind an air conditioning unit in the alley behind the strip center where the robbery had taken place. After the police released the surveillance video, witnesses surfaced who identified Hernandez as the robber, and DNA testing confirmed the presence of Hernandez’s DNA on the T-shirt.

Emphasizing Reilly’s inability to positively identify the robber, and the inconsistent descriptions of the robber given by bystanders, the defense at trial urged the jury to find that another person could have robbed the store, and that Hernandez’s DNA on the shirt did not conclusively prove that Hernandez was the last person to wear the shirt.

The jury of six men and six women deliberated for almost five and a half hours on Friday before recessing for the holiday weekend. This morning, the prosecution agreed to recommend to the court a sentence of 29 years in prison if the defendant would, before the jury returned their verdict, plead guilty and reveal the location of the gun used in the robbery (which had not been recovered during the investigation). Hernandez agreed, and the plea and sentence was done before Judge Bill Henry, who was presiding over the trial.

The Hays County Criminal District Attorney, Wes Mau, who prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Brian Erskine, expressed his appreciation for the hard work of the San Marcos Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, including lead detective Michael Casillas, as well as the numerous detectives and patrol officers from the San Marcos Police Department, Texas State University.

Police Department, and Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office who assisted in the investigation and search for the armed robber. Mau especially wished to thank the non-police witnesses who came forward both to provide first aid to Mr. Reilly and to provide information that led to the discovery of Hernandez’s identity and eventual apprehension, and without whom the case may have remained unsolved for much longer. “Both these groups of citizens—the first aid providers and the identification witnesses—made the decision that they could not stand by and simply say, ‘It’s none of my business.’ Without them, Mr. Reilly’s wounds and the person that inflicted them could have gone on to cause even more harm than they did.”