Police in the Dallas Metroplex have caught a person thought to be one of four men who allegedly dragged a woman to the ground, tied her up, threatened to cut off her fingers, and then fled with more than $75,000 in cash and things from her home.
According to an arrest affidavit, Manuel Hernandez-Hernandez, 28, was detained in Colleyville on Monday and is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail on an immigration hold.
Hernandez-Hernandez had been detained and released in Colleyville 10 days earlier, although the arrest report did not specify the allegations.
According to the arrest complaint, a woman arrived in her driveway in Dallas on September 21 and was accosted by four unknown men as she got out of her vehicle. It claims she was thrown to the ground at gunpoint, then taken into her home and eventually tied up with garments in her bedroom.
She informed authorities that the males spoke Spanish and communicated with her over Google Translate, threatening to cut off her fingers if she didn’t reveal the location of her safe.
According to documents, the males fled with $75,000 cash, the woman’s phone, a Gucci purse, and various coins from a wooden box.
The males allegedly led her to a restroom and instructed her to wait at least 10 minutes before proceeding. She waited a few minutes before going to the neighbor’s house and calling the police.
According to the affidavit, the woman still had portions of the garments tied to her and refused to be transported to a hospital for medical monitoring.
Investigators said the woman’s house was looted, and Hernandez-Hernandez’s fingerprints were found on the wooden box containing the coins.
The woman was shown a lineup of males but claimed to police she couldn’t remember any of their faces.
Police discovered video evidence a few days later that showed a possible suspect’s vehicle and two unknown suspects approaching the woman’s garage around the same time as the alleged event.
Following the event, social media posts claimed the men were members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, although no proof has been found to substantiate this claim.
The Dallas Police Department responded that there is no indication that Hernandez-Hernandez is a member of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. “This remains an active investigation.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has labeled the Tren de Aragua gang as a foreign terrorist organization.