2 teens charged in Houston jugging robbery that left 44-year-old paralyzed, local restaurant helping family
HOUSTON - Court documents state 17-year-old Joseph Harrell assaulted a woman at gunpoint on February 25, just 12 days after he robbed and injured Nhung Truong.
What Harrell confessed to doing to Truong is hard to watch.
BACKGROUND: Houston woman body slammed to the ground during jugging robbery
"When I saw it, it just made me mad as hell," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "Slammed her down like she was a bag of potatoes."
Police say Harrell and 19-year-old Zynika Woods followed Truong from a bank where she had withdrawn more than $4,000.
Some 24 miles later, Harrell tried to steal the money in the 9800 block of Bellaire.
"Once he learned he didn't have the money she withdrew from the bank, he went back and assaulted her again by picking her up and slamming her down on the concrete," said HPD robbery Detective Tyrous Fontenot.
Nhung Truong doesn't speak English and her daughter translated for us.
"She's been improving a lot with her legs, we are hoping she will be able to walk this year," said Truong's daughter Van Duong.
We asked for Troung's reaction to the teenagers' arrests.
"She's feeling grateful that they captured them, but she wants them to change in the future to become better people," her daughter said.
"We felt we needed to help," said Julio Garcia, owner of Ambriza Social Mexican Kitchen. "My wife raised her kids on her own, that's why the story was so moving for us."
"Being a single mom is hard enough, then hearing about this senseless act of violence, not even being able to provide for her children, it broke my heart. So we wanted to find a way to help," said Julio's wife Amber Garcia.
"I think in the story she said she couldn't pay the rent, we decided to pay her rent for a year, if needed," Julio Garcia said.
"She's very grateful that he can pay it for us," Truong's daughter said.
Harrell's bond is set at $240,000.