Suspect wanted for robbing Zippy J’s in Tyler arrested

TYLER – The man who was wanted for stealing hundreds of dollars from Zippy J’s in Tyler after shutting off the store’s power and claiming to have a gun was arrested on Friday.

According to a Smith County arrest warrant affidavit, 25-year-old Trayvonte Deshawn Gates was arrested for the robbery at Zippy J’s after a store employee received a tip on social media about him.

The arrest warrant affidavit said that around 1:05 a.m. Tyler police officers responded to a robbery at Zippy J’s on 1610 S. Vine Avenue. The 911 callers told dispatch that a black man wearing a white shirt, black pants and a black backpack had robbed Zippy J’s and was last seen leaving towards the Bingo Hall.

After officers searched the surrounding area and were unable to find the suspect, they returned to the gas station to talk to store employees. The workers explained to police that around 1 a.m. the lights went off in the store and a black man entered the store a short time later.

“The black man approached the clerks and said ‘I don’t want to do this, but the cartel is making me. I have a gun and am not afraid to use it. Give me the money’ while placing his hand inside the black drawstring backpack he was carrying,” the document said.

The clerks went on to explain to police that they never actually saw a gun, but they heard the suspect say he had one before they ran to the back of the store towards the dumpsters to get away from him.

“The clerks said that the man then proceeded to take money out of two of the registers and then left the store,” the affidavit said. “The clerks advised that the suspect must have used the screen to open the registers as there was nothing broken and none of the registers were forced open.”

The workers told police that they didn’t know the name of the man who had robbed them, but they knew him as an occasional customer who had been in the store earlier that night around 10:58 p.m. to buy a bag of ice.

The document explained that after police viewed the security footage provided by the store manager they were able to confirm the store clerks account of the robbery and the suspect visiting the gas station hours prior. The store manager also showed police the two receipts from which the money was taken by the suspect, one to be $328.21 and the second $301. 52, totaling $629.73.

Later in the day, officers were contacted from a store employee that said she received a tip on social media that said Gates was the man who robbed the gas station. Police talked to another witness that said Gates was living at his house and asked if he needed anything from Zippy J’s. The roommate said that Gates returned sometime later and had a bag full of money in his possession.

According to the document, police talked to Gates’ mom at her home in Tyler where Gates had been staying since the robbery. His mom said that Gates told his father and brother that he had robbed a store the previous night. “[His mom] advised that Gates did not directly tell her but that when she saw him, he seemed upset and left soon after,” the document said.

The affidavit said that one of the employees completed a photo line-up where they positively identified Gates. “[A store employee] wrote on the form that over the last two weeks ‘[Gates’] become a regular in the store coming in almost every night. I’m 100 percent sure that’s him in the photo,’” the document said. The worker explained to police that Gates has been coming in to the store almost nightly between 10 p.m. and midnight.

“[The store employee] advised he felt numb in that moment and was worried about getting away from Gates and did not want to find out if he had a gun or not,” the warrant said. “When asked, [the store employee] did advise that he was in fear for his life.”

Gates was arrested on Friday for the robbery at Zippy J’s and is being held on a $500,000 bond. He was previously arrested for aggravated robbery in 2024 by the Dallas Police Department.