Lake Station Man Charged With Attempted Robbery
Grebil Josue Diaz-Gonzales, 18, of Lake Station, is facing a felony charge after court documents allege he attempted to rob a gas station clerk by displaying a translated death threat on his phone before fleeing without obtaining any property.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on February 12, 2026 at about 7:27 p.m., Lake Station police were dispatched to a gas station in the 500 block of Central Avenue for a robbery that had just occurred. The store clerk reported a male entered the business, approached the counter, and asked if she spoke Spanish. After she told him she did not, he removed his phone and showed her a message translated into English stating she was to give him everything she had or he would kill her.
The clerk told police she never saw a weapon but believed he had something based on how he held his hand inside his pocket. When her phone rang and she told him it was her children and she needed to answer, he shook his head “no.” When another customer arrived, the suspect stated what she believed was “Oh shit,” then fled west from the store, walked around the side of the building near the ice machines, and ran south behind the business without taking anything.
Police obtained surveillance images showing the suspect wearing a blue coat with a black face covering, white pants, black gloves, and dark shoes. A passerby later identified the same male in the area of State Street and 27th Avenue about 30 minutes before the attempted robbery.
On February 17, 2026, officers received a report of a suspicious male opening mailboxes in the 2500 block of Dekalb Street, about 600 feet from the gas station. The suspect description and clothing matched the robbery suspect. Officers located Diaz-Gonzales near Central Avenue and Dekalb Street wearing identical clothing to the suspect in the surveillance images and detained him.
During a police interview conducted with a Spanish-speaking officer translating, Diaz-Gonzales admitted he had been checking mailboxes but took nothing. He stated he had been wearing the same clothing since February 10. When shown a surveillance image from the robbery attempt, he stated that on February 12 he left his home in Lake Station and “did what you guys already know,” referring to the attempted robbery. He further admitted he showed the clerk a translated message telling her to give him the money she had because he does not speak English.
Diaz-Gonzales is lodged
In the Lake County Jail.
Charge filed February 29,2026:
• Robbery — F5 Felony (Attempt to Commit)
