Houston police searching for suspect accused of robbing 74-year-old man in convenience store parking lot

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Authorities are looking for a suspect they say attacked a 74-year-old man in southeast Houston last month.

The Houston Police Department said the robbery happened at about 10 a.m. on Aug. 30 at a convenience store parking lot on Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Police shared surveillance video of the incident that shows the suspect walking up to someone using a walker.

According to HPD, the suspect reached into the 74-year-old man’s pocket and forcibly removed his cash. Police said this caused the man to lose his balance with his walker and fall to the ground as the suspect allegedly walked off.

It’s video the victim said he didn’t know existed until ABC13 knocked on his door. Last month, Juan Armendariz said he went to the store to get lottery tickets when suddenly a man lunged towards his shirt.

“It made me think of a lot of different things of what I see on TV,” Armendariz explained. “What I read in the paper. I understand what they go through now.”

Armendariz said he wasn’t hurt, but the suspect was able to get away with six dollars. Now that he knows there are images of what happened, he told us he hopes it leads to an arrest.

“God willing you’ll learn from this even if you don’t get caught and you don’t do this again to anyone else,” Armendariz said. “That’s my prayer for him.”

Carl Bell shops at the convenience store and lives nearby. ABC13 showed him the video released by police.

“There’s no sense in robbing an elderly person like that,” Bell said. “That man’s up in age and probably worked all his life. He’s got family members and everything. Somebody young like that should find themselves a job. Try to do something with their life. I mean, this is ridiculous, the way things are going these days.”

The suspect is described as a Black man, 17 to 25 years old, wearing a black jacket, faded blue jeans, white shoes, and a light blue backpack, with clean-cut, short afro hair.

Authorities urge you to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston directly if you have any information related to this investigation.

Information leading to the charging and/or arrest of any felony suspects may result in a cash payment up to $5,000.

Tipsters must contact Crime Stoppers directly to remain anonymous and to be considered for a cash payment by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitting an online tip at www.crime-stoppers.org, or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app.

We contacted HPD and asked about crime in the area. A spokesperson looked at calls to the convenience store over the last three months and said that, besides the aggravated robbery, there was a disturbance call in July and a few trespassing calls.

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