The teen says she feels safer now that the suspect is behind bars, but the family is still baffled by what they're calling an unprovoked attack.
Briana Rendon, 14, is relieved that charges have been filed against a neighbor who she says beat her up.
"She grabbed my hair basically," Rendon said.
Marlena Delafuente is charged with injury to a child in the incident. Court records confirm it began when Briana and her mother, Veronica Rendon, were at a stop sign, and 26-year-old Delafuente began rear-ending them.
"Four times she hit the back of my car," Veronica Rendon told us via a translator.
When Briana got out to check on her three-year-old nephew in the back seat, investigators say Delafuente attacked, punching and injuring the teenager.
"Out of nowhere she comes and just hits me," Briana Rendon said. "The fourth punch, I couldn't move. My whole arm was like this my neck was to the side."
Police say Delafuente then struck Veronica Rendon once before fleeing. Neighbors say she has a history of aggressive behavior.
"We hear a lot of arguing and we try to like not be outside," neighbor Juan Ollervides said.
We tried to talk to Delafuente's family, but received no answer.
Veronica Rendon hopes the charges will send a message.
"She needs to understand that is not the way to resolve things," she said.
Delafuente is being held at the Harris County Jail on a $10,000 bond. She's expected to face a judge in the morning.
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