Stanley tumbler tussle at San Jose-area Target store leads to couple's arrest
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office has arrested two people suspected of trying to swipe limited edition Stanley brand beverage tumblers from a Starbucks in January, the department said Wednesday.
The desire for the Stanley tumblers has become a "craze" after images of the colorful containers went viral on social media.
At the beginning of the year, Stanley and Starbucks partnered to create a limited-edition Winter Pink 40-ounce Quencher tumbler. On Jan. 3, customers lined up early at the Target in Cupertino-- which has a Starbucks inside-- to get their hands on one.
But two people in line didn't want to wait, according to the Sheriff's Office. At about 7:15 a.m., deputies responded to a report of a tussle and theft of a tumbler.
According to witnesses, a man and a woman in their twenties entered the Target and cut the line of customers waiting to buy a tumbler. After Target staff were made aware of the situation, they declined to sell the pair one. At that, the male suspect jumped over the Starbucks counter, knocked the barista out of the way, and grabbed a box containing a Stanley tumbler, then attempted to leave the store.
A customer blocked the exit to prevent the man from leaving, according to witnesses. The man then tried to run past him, but was tackled to the ground. The woman with the suspect, his girlfriend, punched the customer, allowing time for her boyfriend to get back up. She then grabbed a Starbucks bag with a tumbler inside from another customer. The pair then fled the store.
After an extensive follow-up investigation, the Sheriff's Office identified Kevin Torres-Cruz, 26, and Hazel Dominguez-Vera, 24, as the suspects in this case. Both were arrested on Tuesday and booked into jail on suspicion of robbery.