'I'm taking this game': Family held at gunpoint over PlayStation 5 in northwest Houston, police say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A northwest Houston family says they were held at gunpoint inside their home and robbed of a PlayStation 5.

Creshonda Washington said she was downstairs with her 10-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter Nov. 25 at the Fountains at Tidwell apartments when she heard her niece screaming from upstairs.

When she went to check on her niece and her niece's two-year-old daughter, she said her niece's ex-boyfriend, Joseph Jones, emerged with a gun.

"He cocks the gun back and he's like, 'I'm sorry about this, cretin.' Then he tells me to turn around and so now I'm really scared," said Washington.

Jones, 20, has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2017, when he was just 13.

Washington said he's made threats against her niece in the past, but police say that didn't stop Washington's niece from inviting him over to check out her new PlayStation 5.

"Why would you invite somebody that's telling you that he's gonna kill you?" asked Washington.

Police say it was the PlayStation that first drew Jones' ire. They say he thought his ex-girlfriend's daughter's father had bought it for her.

"He was accusing my niece of cheating on him," said Washington.

Washington said her 12-year-old daughter managed to escape, but that the rest of the family was forced downstairs at gunpoint and forced to endure a 30-minute, profanity-laced rant.

"He's just like, 'I'm taking this game.' And I'm like, 'Just take whatever you want. Just don't hurt anybody in here,'" said Washington.

Washington said Jones left with the PlayStation and was arrested a week later.

Investigators say he bragged about what had occurred and threatened to "kill them the next time."

He's being held on a $250,000 bond and a judge has signed off on an emergency protective order barring him from contact with his ex-girlfriend and her family.

"I hate to say it but it's kind of like she doesn't take it seriously. It's just you knew he wasn't supposed to be here," said Washington.

Even with the protection order, Washington worries nothing will keep Jones away if he ever gets out of jail.

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