A man in Houston was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison for taking part in three different attacks, including one that left a woman paralyzed. The attack took place in Houston’s Chinatown.
Joseph Harrell, 18, pleaded guilty to the charge of aggravated robbery that caused serious bodily injury for an attack that took place on February 13, 2023. Harrell reportedly attacked a woman named Nhung Troung, leaving the 41-year-old victim in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down, according to KRIV.
Troung apparently spoke with KRIV on the eighth anniversary of the horrible attack and said she was pleased with the court’s decision to put Harrell away for the next 30 years.
Hai Bui, with We The People Organize, said Troung is “very happy,” adding that the victim “feels justice has been served, she hopes that it’s restorative justice – that Harrell may become a better person.” Bui translated Troung’s words into English during the interview.
Blaze News reported on the attack in late March, noting that the attack was captured on surveillance video. Harrell could be seen slamming Troung to the ground, ultimately resulting in a fractured spine. He was subsequently arrested for the incident.
The authorities initially believed that the attack was a form of robbery known as “jugging,” where a suspect follows the victim from the bank after they withdraw money.
Investigators in the case said that Harrell followed Troung for 24 miles before ultimately assaulting her in an effort to steal $4,300 in cash — all of which she had withdrawn from the bank so that she could visit her family in Vietnam.
Prosecutors initially requested for bail to be set at $200,000, after noting that Harrell had previously been charged for illegally carrying a weapon. However, Catherine Evans, a court-appointed defense attorney for Harrell, said: “I requested a bond considerably lower than what Judge Guiney actually set and informed her that the client’s family was currently unable to make his bond.”
“Additionally, it was confirmed that bond conditions are in place that would place Mr. Harrell on 24 hour house arrest and require him to wear a GPS monitor should family members be able to post sufficient bonds at some point in the future,” she added.
Following the attacks, Troung’s children said that she was the primary breadwinner of the family, and that they were now unsure how they were going to make ends meet after the attack.
Houston teen bond cut in half after allegedly paralyzing woman in jugging incidentwww.youtube.com
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