HOUSTON – Two teenagers have been arrested in a robbery that left a Houston woman paralyzed last month.
Joseph Harrell, 17, and Zy’Nika Ayesha Woods, 19, have each been charged with aggravated robbery, the Houston Police Department announced on Friday.
Recommended Videos
UPDATE: Booking photos of Joseph Harrell, 17, and Zy'Nika Ayesha Woods, 19, now charged with aggravated robbery in this jugging incident.#hounews #OneSafeHouston https://t.co/05ZaqmxbAB pic.twitter.com/d8WnjCgkWF
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) March 17, 2023
According to police, the suspects followed the victim, Nhung Troung, for more than 20 miles from a Bank of America to a shopping center on Feb. 13.
Troung had just withdrawn $4,200 to pay for a vacation trip home to Vietnam, police said.
Harrell was seen on surveillance footage robbing Troung outside the shopping center and slamming her to the ground. Police said she injured her spine and legs, leaving her paralyzed.
Her family also told KPRC, KSAT’s sister station in Houston, that she hit her head on the ground. She is still unable to walk.
“I feel very sad that this happened to me,” Truong told KPRC. “I couldn’t use the restroom, walk on my own or eat on my own.”
Police asked for the public’s help in identifying and finding the suspects, and offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest.
Officers announced their arrests in a news conference on Friday. Mayor Sylvester Turner was also at the news conference, saying the video made him “mad as hell.”
Police added that the suspects confessed to the crime.
Read also: