SURVIVAL STORY: Midtown Houston man shot in throat on Christmas Eve
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston man is grateful to be alive after he was shot in the throat during a violent home invasion on Christmas Eve.
After spending 11 days in the hospital, Jesus Alvarez is finally home, and able to share his story.
"It's heavy stuff," Alvarez said. "It hurts my heart."
Using a collar to breathe, the Midtown man spoke exclusively to ABC13 Eyewitness News on Friday.
"I can't sneeze, or cough, or breathe through my mouth," Alvarez said.
A medical device helps him breathe after he was brutally attacked. Cameras in his home were rolling as three men entered, found Alvarez, and shot him in the throat.
"That's when it hit me," Alvarez recalled. "I thought to myself, 'Oh my gosh, this is how it all ends.'"
His life didn't end. After he was shot, the suspects beat Alvarez with another weapon. Somehow, Alvarez fought back, and ran for help.
"I laid down and I curled myself up into a little ball and I saw cars passing by," Alvarez recalled. "I couldn't yell, I couldn't scream, I couldn't talk, so I reached my hand out so they could help me."
The suspects got away as well. Thanks to the videos, officers were able to identify two of the suspects.
Marcus Redlich and Brandon Spell face an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon charge. The victim knows both of the men.
"I would ask them, 'Why? Why would you jeopardize your life, and try to hurt me for little to next to nothing?'" Alvarez said.
Alvarez added the suspects took off with a bag and electronics.
He's now able to eat and speak, but he may always wear a tracheostomy tube in order to breathe. He hopes someone recognizes the suspects in the video and calls police.
"I encourage people to watch it, because it helps them understand what I went through, and it puts them in my shoes so they can understand my emotions," Alvarez said.
Officers need help to catch the other suspect. If you have any information, you can call Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.
