Sledgehammer suspect on the loose

(5/14/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- There was a scary attack at a busy strip mall in the middle of the day. A man armed with a sledgehammer forced his way into a store and his bizarre break-in was caught on camera.

It took the suspect less than 30 seconds and 17 swings to bash in the bulletproof glass with a sledgehammer in an attempt to get inside and access whatever cash he could get.

He hit with such force that it a security camera outside and 30 feet away rattled with every impact.

"It was probably the worst minute and a half of my life," admitted clerk Laura Mejorada.

Mejorado, who was five months pregnant and alone in the store when this happened last Wednesday, says she called 911 while the suspect was reaching in and unlocking the door.

She opened a trap door which caused it to latch. The suspect couldn't figure out how to get any further, so he fled. Police didn't arrive for 20 minutes.

Americash Financial district manager Minerva Benavidez questions why it took so long for an officer to respond. She says this is not the first time this man has tried to rip off her store and she wants his picture out there so he might be stopped.

She claims he's hit her store four times in the last year and a half. One time, she says he took an employee and even a customer hostage, and has gotten away with more than $10,000 in all.

"I want something done, I want him caught, I want him off the street," said Benavidez.

Police defend their 20 minute response this time, saying the call was sent to them by the Houston Emergency Center as a burglary in progress. An HEC spokesperson says the call was not given priority one status because it actually came in after the suspect had fled.

"As the call had come in, the man was already gone, she was describing the vehicle he was going in, which direction he was going in," said Joe Laud of the Houston Emergency Center.

Make sure to watch the above player where we have the full surveillance video from the store. If he looks familiar, call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

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