HOUSTON — A woman is pursuing charges against a Houston Shell gas station after she said she was recorded while using the bathroom.
It allegedly happened inside the Shell on Richmond and Woodland Park Drive in west Houston.
April Herrena, 23, said while vising Houston on May 7, she stopped at the gas station to use the bathroom. The station keeps the bathroom locked and requires a key. Herrena said before a male employee let her in, he entered for a few minutes first.
“I thought he was just setting it up, checking for toilet paper and whatnot,” she said.
It wasn’t until Herrena said she was washing her hands that she noticed something suspicious.
“I noticed four little twist ties that were attached to a metal frame. I opened the frame up, and that’s when I noticed the phone was right there," she said. "Twist ties were holding up the cell phone that was recording me using the bathroom. Everything just went hot, and I felt numb. I was just extremely, extremely angry.”
Herrena shared the gas station’s surveillance video with KHOU that was recorded off her friend’s phone. It appears to show Herenna leaving the bathroom and holding the frame with something attached to the back. A man quickly walks up to her, takes the device and leaves through a back door. He comes back about 15 minutes later with the phone, according to Herrena.
“By that point, he had deleted anything that would have been good evidence," she said.
Herrera said the store’s owner showed up and made her an offer.
“$700 not to file any charges or take him to court. My heart dropped, and I was so upset already because of what happened, and I already felt like I wasn’t being taken seriously," Herrena said.
She went to Houston Police who confirm they have the phone and are investigating.
KHOU 11 tried to reach the store’s owner or manager repeatedly, even going to the store twice, but our requests for comment were never answered, although a gas station employee told us the employee in question was fired last week.
Herrera said she plans to pursue all possible charges.
“I just felt like if he did that to me, he’s probably doing that to other kids. That could’ve been my little sister in there," she said.
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