HOUSTON — A Houston man accused of picking up a woman and slamming her to the ground during a robbery in Asiatown in February will spend at least 15 years in prison after accepting a plea deal, according to Harris County District Attorney's Office.
The jugging attack left the victim, Nhung Truong, partially paralyzed and she still needs a wheelchair.
Though Truong is grateful for how everything played out in court, she still has a long road to recovery.
"It has been very difficult," said Truong. "A difficult time to sleep, to use the restroom. It has been very very difficult."
The incident was caught on surveillance video, which was then shared by Houston police.
Joseph Harrel, 18, was charged with aggravated robbery with serious bodily injury. He accepted a plea deal and a sentence of 30 years in prison The DA's Office said he will have to serve at least 15 years of that sentence before he is eligible for parole.
"We want to send a message to all these juggers out there that, hey, 30 years is a long time and we don't want this to happen to anyone, any race, anybody to ruin someone's life like this," Truong said.
Prosecutors told KHOU 11 News that Troung still has a long road to recovery, but that she's happy with the outcome. They added that they're glad Harrell no longer poses a threat to the community.
"Everyone in our community should be able to do things like go to the bank without having to look behind their back and be afraid, and someone like Joseph Harrell makes people feel unsafe in their community and unsafe doing daily tasks," Sean Kozar-King, a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney's Office, said.
Woman body slammed during robbery
The day before Valentine's Day 2023, Truong went to a Bank of America to get some cash for a trip to Vietnam where she's from.
After leaving the bank, she made her way to a shopping center on Bellaire Boulevard just inside Beltway 8 where she was followed by Harrell and Woods.
HPD Det. Tyruls Fontenot said Truong was walking in front of the shopping center when Harrell got out of a car that Woods was driving and fought with Troung for her purse.
After all of her belongings fell to the ground, Fontenot said Harrell picked up what he thought was the money and started running away. When he realized he didn't have the money, he went back to Troung, picked her up, and slammed her to the ground, according to HPD.
He then picked up the envelope with the money and ran back to the getaway car that Zy’Nika Woods, 19, was driving, Fontenot said. Woods also accepted a plea deal in the case recently and the DA's Office said she will be sentenced soon.
The entire incident was caught on a surveillance camera. Watch below.
Troung suffered serious back injuries from the body slam and is still unable to walk.
In March, the 44-year-old mom told us she was the family bread winner with her job at a nail salon.
Her daughter, translating for her, said her mother was relieved Harrell had been caught.
"I hope that he can be able to change to be a better person,” she said.
What led to the arrests
With the help of surveillance cameras, police said they were able to get the license plate of Harrell and Woods' vehicle and later learned Woods was the driver.
Fontenot said she matched the description of the woman seen in the surveillance videos.
She was eventually detained for a traffic violation and interviewed by investigators. Fontenot said she confessed to taking part in the robbery and confessed to Harrell being involved as well.
After confirming Harrell was the other person involved in the robbery, investigators said they arrested him for a warrant on a separate aggravated assault case. He was interviewed and also confessed to taking part in the robbery, Fontenot said.
