PITTSBURG — Four people have been charged with robbing and assaulting a popular social media influencer who lost a $20,000 chain and a cellphone.
The victim, who goes by the online pseudonym Baby Alien, was chased into a smoke shop that he was promoting at the time, beaten with a Mini Draco, and suffered a head injury during the ordeal, according to authorities. Antioch police identified and arrested a suspect hours later, and seized the stolen chain.
One of the suspects was charged in juvenile court because he’d a teenager, and his name was not immediately available. The other three have been identified as Daniel Manriquez-Sandoval, 23, Kamari Matrice Humphrey, 21, and Cuevas Reed, also 21.
Contra Costa prosecutors have charged the group with second degree robbery, assault, and gun possession, court records show.
Authorities say Baby Alien was in the Bay Area for paid promotional gigs, a service he offers as a social media influencer. One of the included stops was a smoke shop on Railroad Avenue in Pittsburg. While he was shooting a video, a car pulled up containing at least four masked robbers.
Three of them chased Baby Alien and his girlfriend into the store, where they were robbed while attempting to hide behind the counter, authorities said. The teen was outside, reportedly keeping lookout for the others.
Hours later, an Antioch officer on patrol noticed a man with a distinctive bulge in his pants that appeared to be a firearm, and searched him. The gun recovered turned out to be the Mini Draco that was used to assault Baby Alien, authorities said.
Police detained the man and arrested three other suspects in the area, authorities said. The officers were able to match the suspects’ clothing to surveillance footage of the robbery, and they recovered the stolen items.