HOUSTON, Texas — Cosmetology is among the ways 22-year-old Luis Conde earns a living and while shopping for essential supplies, he was approached by armed suspects.
“I’ve been doing it for about seven years,” said Conde.
He often stops at a beauty supply store along Jensen Drive just north of Tidwell Road in northeast Houston.
“I always go to that store, you know?" said Conde."I never thought anything like that would happen.”
Video released by HPD Robbery shows what happened from multiple angles in the middle of the afternoon in early January.
It starts with a group of men wearing hoodies walking outside a convenience store. Then, one of them approaches Conde’s car parked outside the beauty supply next door.
"He was trying to be friendly, asking for a cigarette and a lighter," said Conde. "I told him I don’t have any.”
He said the suspect then pulled out a gun while poking through the passenger side window as Conde tried to back up.
"He pulled out the gun on me and was like 'get out the car or I’m gonna shoot you,' said Conde. "And in that instant, in that moment, you know, I didn’t know whether the gun was armed or not.”
Three other men then walk around to the driver’s side as Conde gets out and walks away with his hands up before they get away with his car, phone and hundreds of dollars in cash.
"It was either my life or my car," said Conde. "A vehicle could be replaced, a phone could be replaced. But, at the end of the day, I can't be replaced."
Conde says he didn’t recognize the suspects from any previous trips to the store, but he's confident someone knows exactly who they are.
"Honestly, you know, I do feel some type of way because it was like, you know, I work so hard for the things that I have," said Conde. "For somebody to just come in and take these things from me, you know, my hard work, I feel like it wasn’t right."
Police did end up locating Conde’s car about six miles from the crime scene. It’s possible it was used to commit another crime.
The suspects haven't been caught.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online by clicking here.