Abilene man apologizes after robbery: ‘She didn’t deserve that’

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – An Abilene man was arrested in connection with a September 2024 robbery at a DK convenience store on Grape Street, where he allegedly threatened a clerk with a knife and stole cigarettes.

In September 2024, police officers responded to a robbery at a DK convenience store located on Grape Street. Upon arrival, they were unable to locate the suspect and went into the store to speak with the victim.

The victim reported that a man had entered the store and attempted to go behind the counter. Court documents state she blocked his path and noticed he was holding a knife. He then allegedly told her he was taking what he wanted and instructed her to move aside, so out of fear, she said she stepped aside, and that the man took three packs of Newport cigarettes before leaving the store.

After receiving a picture of the suspect, documents state the officer recognized the man from a criminal trespass incident at a hotel in north Abilene the previous week. Police took the picture to the hotel, where Donald Ray Hunt III was identified as the suspect.

After discovering that Hunt was in jail, the detectives went to speak with him. According to the documents, after the detective read him his rights and asked about the incident, Hunt exhaled and said, “Honestly,” then paused and added something along the lines of, “I made a mistake.”

The documents also state Hunt shared he drank at the motel and left when other occupants began to “shoot up.” He allegedly said he wasn’t sure what he drank but claims he woke up in a field near the Northside hotel with cigarettes in his pockets and no shoes.

Records state that the detective asked Hunt if he was sorry for what happened, to which he nodded and said, “She didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry if I scared her.”

Donald Ray Hunt III was charged with Aggravated Robbery, Criminal Trespass, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Resisting Arrest. He was booked into the Taylor County Jail on bonds totaling $65,500.