'Shoot me, shoot us': Video shows mom using teen as shield after 25-mile-long chase, Pct. 8 says

Mycah Hatfield Image
Thursday, July 27, 2023
ONLY ON 13: Video shows mom using teen as shield before being tased
A video obtained by ABC13 shows Tenescha Selena Henry using her 14-year-old daughter as a shield after allegedly leading a high-speed chase and driving the wrong way.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Missouri City woman, who is accused of using her teenage daughter as a shield to protect herself from law enforcement, remains behind bars.

Tenescha Henry, 35, is charged with evading arrest, child endangerment, and fraud.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Missouri City woman leads 25-mile-long chase, uses child as shield, Pct. 8 says

Last Thursday night, Precinct 8 Deputy A. Peters responded to assist Webster police in pursuit of a theft suspect wanted by Bellaire police.

Peters said she became the lead unit and pursued the car for 25 miles with speeds exceeding 100 mph.

"At a point, (Henry) did end up exiting and going the wrong way on the service road of I-45 and then ultimately went the wrong way on the local road of Airport Boulevard," Peters recalled.

The pursuit ended in the parking lot of a strip center on Cullen Boulevard near Beltway 8 when Henry ran out of gas, according to Pct. 8.

"She essentially got out of the vehicle, walked around to the front of the car, opened the passenger side door," Peters said. "She grabbed an unknown female out of the passenger side and proceeded to grab her, take her out of the car where she, unfortunately, put her in what we would call a chokehold and put her in front of law enforcement."

At the time, deputies on the scene did not know that the child in the chokehold was Henry's 14-year-old daughter.

"At that point, I 100% believed that we had a hostage situation," Peters said.

According to Peters, the teen girl was crying and pleading with her mother to stop.

"I distinctly remember her at times saying, 'Shoot. Shoot me, shoot us.' Things of that nature," the deputy said.

She said it was fortunate that they had the volume of law enforcement officers on the scene that they did because the parking lot was broken into two scenes.

Peters went to the vehicle and discovered a third person in the backseat while other law enforcement kept Henry surrounded.

The man in the backseat was put in the back of a deputy's unit without incident, according to Peters. She said he was either Henry's current or former romantic partner.

From there, the deputy said she was able to put herself in a position to use her Taser on Henry without hitting her daughter.

"It is very high intensity," Peters said. "It can be a very dangerous situation, and to put your own family member, not to mention your daughter, right in front of that potential danger is just kind of crazy to me."

Henry was taken into custody, and her daughter was released to a grandparent.

"We found over 20 pieces of what we would call identifying information, so numerous cards, debit cards, credit cards, social security cards, health insurance cards, things like that, drivers' licenses," Peters said.

She said deputies on the scene had to use their training and past experiences to ensure a safe conclusion was reached.

"That's ultimately the main goal that we have every day," Peters said. "Not only do we want to go home, we want to make sure everybody else goes home as well."

Henry remains in jail in Harris County. Her bond is set at a combined $20,000 for evading and child endangerment. A bond has not been set in the fraud case.

The 35-year-old is due back in court on Sept. 27.

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