Video shows west Houston business owner targeted twice by thieves: "It's not safe"

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A west Houston business owner was targeted twice by thieves within days. The electrical contractor said he's out of more than $60,000. Now, he and Houston police are releasing video of the robberies in hopes of finding the suspects.

Surveillance video from Feb. 9, 2021, shows the business owner who had just closed his shop. His girlfriend was picking him up in the parking lot when a man in a light-colored hoodie hopped off his bike, pulled out a gun, and then pointed it right at the victim.

"The first thing I think is to give everything to him. I take my wallet and my phone, and I give them to him right away," said the victim.

No one got hurt, but he lost his phone and $600 cash. That turned out to be nothing compared to what the thieves got away with four days later.

"They broke the two windows. We had the front wiring on the top and bottom shelf. What they did was they laid down. They started taking it out and then laid down to get the top part," said an employee.

More security camera footage from the business owner showed a group of robbers pulling up to the victim's electrical contracting store with a U-Haul truck. An inside view showed them stealing an estimated $63,000 worth of electrical wiring.

"It's affected, like, 50% of our business," said the business owner, who asked not to be identified for his safety. His company can't survive around this kind of crime. "We are going to move in a couple of months because it's not safe. Two things happened in the same week. It's not safe."

Houston police investigate and ask anyone who recognizes the thieves to call Crimestoppers at 713-222-TIPS. They're offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to arrests.

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