DALLAS — Sen. Ted Cruz mentioned the robbery of a Dallas woman during his debate against Democratic challenger Colin Allred as they sparred over border security.
“I hear about it everywhere I go,” Cruz said of border security. “I hear about it in Dallas – the folks concerned about the Dallas woman who Venezuelan gangs broke into her house, tied her up, pistol whipped her with a gun … and robbed her.”
Here’s the latest in the robbery of the woman in the Briarwood neighborhood near Love Field.
Four men, three of whom were alleged to be members of a gang after police initially said there were no indications of gang activity, approached a woman as she got out of her car in a garage at a home in the 4800 block of Elsby Ave. shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sept. 23, and one pulled a gun on her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The men allegedly forced the woman to the ground and demanded to know where her safe was, according to the affidavit.
The woman told them she didn’t have a safe, and one of the men hit her on the head with the butt of a gun, according to the affidavit.
They then forced the woman into her home as they searched it, according to the affidavit. While they were searching, one of the men tied the woman up, the affidavit states. One of the men also threatened to cut off the woman’s fingers if she didn’t tell them where the safe was, according to the affidavit.
The men stole a Gucci purse and $75,000 worth of jewelry, according to the affidavit.
The men left the home and the woman was able to go to a neighbor’s house and call police after about 10 minutes, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Police processed the woman’s home for fingerprints and matched one of the prints to Manuel Hernandez-Hernandez, 28, who was arrested Sept. 30 in Colleyville, according to police reports.
Hernandez-Hernandez admitted to being present during the robbery during an interview with police Sept. 30, and provided additional names of people believed to be connected to the robbery, according to the affidavit.
Hernandez-Hernandez also told police the other three were part of a gang known as "El Anti Tren," but that he was not part of it, according to the affidavit.
Then, on Oct. 30, police executed a search warrant with help from Irving Police SWAT and Dallas Police SWAT in which three more men were taken into custody in connection with the robbery -- Yean Brayhan Torrealba-Sanabria, 20, Carlos Alberto Martinez-Silva, 34, and Wilmer Jesus Colmenares-Gonzalez, 27, police say. All were charged with aggravated robbery, according to police.
The investigation into the robbery is ongoing.
The robbery came after police confirmed in September that a viral video purporting to show a man beaten in Dallas that was rumored to be linked to Tren De Aragua was a year old and showed an isolated incident not linked to gang activity.
Dallas police did confirm at that time, though, that they’re investigating gang activity in the north Dallas area linked to Tren de Aragua.
Other recent reports of activity rumored to be linked to the gang across the country, including in Aurora, Colorado, and in Idaho have also been debunked by officials.
