HOUSTON — Police have identified and charged one of two men accused of robbing an 80-year-old woman of $19,000 in cash at a convenience store in Houston's Midtown area.
Editor's note: The above video was published before the suspect was identified.
The Houston Police Department said 31-year-old Kevan Hall was out on bond for unlawful carrying of a firearm and deadly conduct when he and one other man snatched the envelope of cash the victim was carrying back in July. He is now also charged with robbery. This happened at a store on Fannin Street near Gray Street on July 12.
According to HPD, the woman was already a victim in a different case, which is why she was at the convenience store that day. Investigators said the woman was trying to deposit the cash into a cryptocurrency account at the urging of a scammer who had claimed the woman's bank had been hacked.
"She said I would get the money back in three days," the victim told KHOU 11. "Any money that I withdrew out of the bank. And, of course, that didn’t happen.”
In total, HPD said the woman is out $76,000 between the scam and unrelated robbery.
“It’s one of the wildest things I’ve seen in my career at the department," Jeff Brieden with HPD’s Robbery Division said.
As of Thursday, Sept. 19, police are still looking for Hall.
If you have any information about his whereabouts or about the other suspect, you're asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477. Information leading to the charging and/or arrest of any felony suspects may result in a cash payment up to $5,000. Tipsters must contact Crime Stoppers directly to remain anonymous and to be considered for a cash payment.
Watch the update police gave on this case earlier this month: