HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Two Meyerland residents were brazenly attacked at their homes just weeks apart, both having withdrawn money from the Chase Bank along the I-610 West Loop and Beechnut. Now, the Houston Police Department is investigating whether these cases are connected.
On Wednesday, Laura Borja went to the Chase Bank to withdraw $140 for her cleaning lady. Home security footage from her Ring doorbell camera shows Borja holding a white envelope in her left hand while opening her door with her right. A man in a dark hoodie and long pants rushes up behind her, grabs the envelope, and runs away. The video captures him wearing orange underwear as he flees in a black sedan, with Borja screaming after him.
“He kind of pushed me a little bit and turned around, and I had that face right in front of me,” Borja said. “I started screaming like crazy because I didn’t know what he was going to do. I didn’t know if he had something in his hand.”
Borja was left with a scratch on her finger and $140 poorer. She and her family shared the Ring doorbell video, hoping to identify the robber.
She soon discovered she wasn’t the only victim.
On May 13, Steve Strauss visited the same Chase Bank, withdrawing a few hundred dollars in vacation spending money. Upon returning to his Meyerland home around 3 p.m., Strauss pulled into his garage. A suspect then attacked, stealing Strauss’ vacation money and punching the retired lawyer several times in the face. Dazed, Strauss walked out of his garage.
“I came home, opened the garage door. (I) realized it had been raining, so I go to turn the sprinklers off,” Strauss recounted. “Next thing I know, the guy’s in front of me.”
Strauss’ video shows a man jumping out of a black sedan and running toward his garage.
“A young guy with a hoodie. I kind of knew what was going to happen. He just pushed me down, swung at me a couple of times. He did not take my wallet. He only took the envelope with the cash,” Strauss said.
Although Strauss was left with a black eye, he is otherwise okay.
Comparing surveillance videos, the getaway cars in both robberies appear to be the same, likely an older black Nissan sedan. Houston police began investigating a possible connection between the two incidents after calls from . For the victims, it’s clear that at least two, if not more, suspects are involved in these robberies.
Both Borja and Strauss are convinced they were followed from the Chase Bank at the West Loop. If the videos and cars look familiar, Houston police urge you to contact them.
