Customer Killed During Lufkin Robbery

LUFKIN – A customer at a Lufkin store has been shot and killed during a robbery. The holdup at the Dollar General on Kurth Drive occurred shortly after 9:45 Friday night. Lufkin police say the suspect entered the store, demanded money and then shot a customer who was standing at the register. He has been identified as Darrence Kindle, 31, of Lufkin. Kindle had just gotten off work at Georgia Pacific and went the store to buy cigarettes before going home. When officers arrived, Kindle had a weak pulse. He was taken to a Lufkin hospital for treatment, where he later died.

The surveillance video shows the suspect rushed in and walked behind Kindle. Kindle glanced over his shoulder to look at the suspect, did a double take and was then shot by the suspect at close range. This happened within 4 seconds of the suspect entering the store. The suspect continued demanding money and then placed a shopping cart at the entrance to keep the automatic doors from shutting. He then jumped on top of the counter. After jumping down, the suspect rummaged through Kindle’s pockets before fleeing the store. It is unknown if the suspect took anything from Kindle. He did not get any money from the store.

The suspect fled the store on foot toward Loop 287 into a wooded area. Officers spent hours searching for the suspect but were unsuccessful in locating him. The suspect is described as a young, slender, light-complexion black male, roughly 5’10, wearing a dark-colored hoodie, light-colored basketball shorts, red shoes and a neon green Halloween mask. On the police department’s Facebook page is a video of the robbery suspect.