Detectives recommend swapping at a police or fire station, so you know you're safe. That's something one teenager says he's considering, for next time.
"I like to have something fresh, every week," 17-year-old Nasario Rocha said.
Rocha says shoes are his passion. For three years, he's been shoe trading with guys he meets online, mostly on Facebook.
"These are Concord 11s, these are what I was initially supposed to get," he said. "These are the Toro 4S that I traded that I had."
Sunday night's swap went south. Rocha met his barter buddy, as arranged, at a mall's food court. His father even watched from a distance. Public, and safe he thought until he walked out to the parking lot after the trade.
"He hit me in the face a couple of times," Rocha said.
Unbeknown to the attacker, Rocha's parents were 10 steps behind. His father Alex Uriba stepped in.
"As a parent my main concern was his safety, trying to get them off of him and then my wife, of course," Uriba said. "They could've pulled a knife, they could've pulled a gun."
With a busted lip and bruises on his chest and back, Uriba protected his family, but his son lost both pairs of shoes and the assailant got away.
"It's material things that can replaced. Luckily, nothing happened to him or her so I'm ok," Uriba said.
Police say the suspect fled in a maroon Honda Accord with a pair of size 10.5 red Jordan Toro 4S. They're worth about $200.
Anyone with information about the identity of the suspect is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at (713) 222-TIPS (8477).
Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for any information called in to the 713-222-TIPS (8477) or submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org that leads to the filing of felony charges or arrest of the suspect in this case. Tips can also be sent by text message. Text TIP610 plus your tip to CRIMES (274637). All tipsters remain anonymous.
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