Tristan T. Griffin, 28, faces charges of robbery with bodily injury and injury to an elderly victim, the Houston Police Department’s Robbery Division said.
HOUSTON — Hours after the Houston Police Department asked the public for help locating a violent robbery suspect, they announced that he’d been arrested in Georgia.
The robbery and attack happened at Hobby Airport on Sunday, June 1. A man was dropping off his daughter around 3 a.m. and got out of his vehicle to get her luggage.
Suddenly, a guy ran up, punched him in the face, and then tried to jump into his SUV. The victim’s wife screamed for help, and an elderly witness who saw what was happening tried to intervene. The suspect then punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious, and he fell to the ground.
As the suspect began to drive off in the victim’s 2023 Hyundai Palisade, the victim’s wife tried to open the passenger door. She told investigators that he said, “I have a gun and I am going to shoot you,” so she let go and he sped off.
Three days later, the vehicle was found abandoned in Jennings, Louisiana, between Lake Charles and Lafayette.
The HPD Robbery Division used surveillance to identify Tristan D. Griffin as a possible suspect. The three victims viewed a photo lineup and confirmed that he was their attacker, so arrest warrants were issued.
Griffin was charged with robbery with bodily injury and injury to an elderly victim.
He was tracked down in Georgia and is currently in custody awaiting extradition to Houston.
Court documents show that Griffin, 28, was also wanted on unrelated charges in Louisiana and Iowa after an apparent “crime spree.”