Woman says she was attacked in restroom at Houston restaurant, suspect arrested

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman was allegedly attacked and choked by a stranger inside a Houston restaurant restroom. She spoke with ABC13 about the violent encounter she says she experienced.

It allegedly happened at a Timmy Chan's restaurant on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The suspect was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping.

The 54-year-old woman wanted to stay anonymous. She said she and her husband went there to eat around 2 p.m. on Friday.

When they walked into the restaurant, she said she went to the restroom. But, she said on her way there, a man approached her asking for money.

She said she continued to walk to the restroom, but when she tried to shut the door to lock it, the woman claimed that same man forced his way in.

"He started choking me and I go against the wall again. Now I'm trying to scream and get away and he was telling me to shut up," the woman said. "He was telling me, 'I'll kill you.'"

The woman said she screamed out for help, but felt like no one could hear her. She said her husband ultimately heard the cries, got in and fought the man off of her.

Law enforcement said restaurant staff called in the emergency and Harris County Constable Precinct 7 deputies arrived.

Officials said the restaurant's security guard tracked down the suspect less than a block away and he was arrested.

Court records identified him as 31-year-old Ciara Hewitt.

Precinct 7 told ABC13 this was possibly a mental health situation. The suspect allegedly told them he was hungry and trying to get money.

This was not Hewitt's first run-in with the law. Records showed a prior felony conviction for assault family violence in 2019.

He's due back in court for this newest charge on Monday.

The woman said she's still processing what she went through.

"I feel like I was real, real lucky that day," she said. "It could have been a lot worse."

Ultimately, she's trying to heal both physically and mentally.

"The trauma that I suffer, I mean, I wouldn't wish this on no one," she said. "I had nightmares last night. I mean, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't even walk, you know, because my lupus and arthritis is severe. So it banged me up really bad, really bad."

ABC13 spoke with a manager at Timmy Chan's, who said they are sorry for what happened.

They said they do have security that comes in around 3 p.m. But, they said they're now looking into possibly expanding their security measures.