A Houston, Texas woman was allegedly tied up and paraded around her home in front of her terrified one- and three-year-old children after she answered the door to two thieves disguised as DoorDash delivery drivers, telling them they had the wrong address.
“As soon as she opened the door, he pulled a gun out of a DoorDash bag and forced his way in. They tied my daughter up, and … they started ransacking the house,” the victim’s father and homeowner, Ben Bates, told local TV station KHOU, according to the New York Post Wednesday.
On Tuesday morning, the young mother, identified only by the first name Nicole, was alone with her two children, aged one and three, at the family home when two men wearing surgical masks and carrying a red Doordash bag reportedly knocked on the door.
Except that when she opened the door, in good faith, to inform them that they did not have the right address, the two burglars then forced their way in, threatening the woman with a firearm, which was hidden in the bag.
“They didn’t do anything to the children, but they walked (the victim) through the rooms trying to find things to take away (…) I can’t imagine what my daughter is going through right now,” her father continued to the local media.
Fortunately, a neighbour who witnessed the scene then rushed to call the authorities, who rushed to the scene.
When Houston police arrived, officers reportedly located a first suspect, identified as Michael Perez, 38, in the living room with the three victims.
Except that while making his arrest, the second suspect allegedly emerged from a bedroom and fired in the direction of the officers, hitting one of them, Officer S. Durfee, in the leg.
The latter allegedly responded with a shot, but did not manage to hit the shooter, Raymond Perez, who then ran away before being arrested near the house, according to the Post.
A third suspect, Brian Garcia Chavez, 18, who was believed to be waiting for his accomplices in a vehicle outside the home, was reportedly arrested six hours later after also fleeing the scene.
All three men are facing charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, while Perez will also face charges of aggravated assault on a police officer and unlawful carrying of a weapon, according to Houston police.
