3 men rob liquor store in northwest Houston not realizing the bottle is only a decoy, police say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police are in search of three suspects who were caught on video robbing a liquor store in northwest Houston. They thought they took a very expensive bottle, little do they know they got away with a decoy.

On Monday at about 2 p.m., three men entered a liquor store located at the 2800 block of Katy Freeway.

The men inquired about a $4,200 bottle of liquor that was locked in a display case.

Investigators say an employee unlocked the display case and pulled out the bottle of liquor. One of the men then forcibly grabbed the bottle from the employee's hands and ran out of the store.

Meanwhile, a second suspect reached into the display case and removed another box of the same liquor, which he then dropped as he ran out of the store realizing that the box was empty.

The employee told investigators that the suspects got away with a decoy bottle (with very little value) and not the actual liquor bottle of $4,200 liquor, police said.

Contact Crime Stoppers if you have any information related to this investigation. Information leading to the charging and/or arrest of any felony suspects may result in a cash payment up to $5,000.