California 7-Eleven Workers Won’t Be Charged for Beating Attempted Theft Suspect

A California district attorney announced Aug. 9 he will not file charges against two 7-Eleven store clerks seen in a viral video holding down and beating a man after an attempted theft of cigarettes from the store.

A video of the clerks circulated on social media last week and caught the attention of local police who began investigating the clerks for assault.

Police said they planned to forward findings from their investigation to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office for review Aug. 5.

But District Attorney Ron Freitas announced Wednesday his office would not file charges.

“The Stockton 7-11 Store Clerks are not [and] have never been, suspects of the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office,” Mr. Freitas said in a news release posted to Facebook. “Any Investigation going forward is to hold accountable the individual who threatened [and] attempted to rob them. We will have more information as it becomes available.”

The alleged robbery at the store happened on July 28 in Stockton, California, according to local police. Officers responded to the location hours after the incident to meet fire department personnel who were attending to a man complaining of pain from being struck by a stick.

The man, later identified as Tyrone Frazier, 41, refused to tell officers how he received his injuries. Investigators, however, were able to connect it to the alleged robbery at the convenience store that occurred hours earlier.

Stockton police arrested Mr. Frazier on Aug. 7 suspected in connection to the series of robberies at the 7-Eleven convenience store, burglary, and other outstanding warrants, they reported in a statement on Facebook.

The 7-Eleven corporate office did not return an immediate request for comment.