Woman robbed at gunpoint while holding garage sale

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There's a warning about a common weekend activity for many families -- attending garage sales. Recently, there have been several crimes at different garage sales across our area.

At least 50 families participated in a community-wide garage sale in southeast Harris County this past weekend. Elizabeth Guerrero says she was trying to raise funds for her daughter's quinceañera party. Instead, she was robbed at gunpoint.

Lupe Rivas didn't know her friend was in trouble until she heard this...

"She said 'OK, just don't shoot,'" Rivas said.

They were both preoccupied early Saturday morning as they prepared to participate in a community-wide garage sale when Guerrero was taken by surprise.

"I was taking the things out of my vehicle when I see a white car," Guerrero said. "I thought it was just an early customer coming."

At first, she says the young man was polite.

"He was actually respectful, he was like 'Excuse me, ma'am,'" Guerrero said.

But then she saw the gun.

"I was just waiting for him to shoot me," she said.

He got away with her purse, but for the getaway driver that wasn't enough.

"The other guy kept saying, 'Just shoot her, shoot her,'" Guerrero said.

By this time, Rivas was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher and the robbers were gone.

"I'm just really happy to be alive," Rivas said.

Now the ladies hope someone in the neighborhood saw something, or better yet a surveillance camera was rolling, as the small white, four-door car tore out of the Sage Glen community. They say the deputy constable who responded told them there were two other similar robberies, which leads them to wonder whether the crooks were targeting women.

So now they have this warning...

"Be careful, be careful because it could have been a tragedy," Rivas said.

In another incident, Friendswood police say they arrested a man who used a fake $20 bill to buy a T-shirt at a garage sale. They say he had more counterfeit money in his possession so they say to be careful.

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local, jessica willey

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