One man is under arrest and another is on the run after trying to steal a snake during an attempted armed robbery in southeast Houston, according to Houston police.
Ariel Giron put her ball python, Chompers, up for sale for $200 on OfferUp last month. A woman contacted her, claiming to be interested in purchasing her snake. They agreed to meet Sunday, Oct. 2 in a parking lot at an apartment complex in the 9400 block of Clearwood Street.
When Giron arrived, she told KPRC 2 she was greeted by two children, one of whom only had a few bucks in his hand. The girl told Giron her brother would send the rest of the money, which was never part of the communicated plan, she said.
“She asked me to remove him out of what he was in, and I was like, ‘Ok, that’s weird, maybe you want to touch him, maybe you want to just make sure he’s friendly,’” Giron said.
But that’s when two men approached from behind, one of them with a gun, and demanded she give them the snake.
“It was straight to my temple,” she said. “Whenever I told him no, he was very stunned.”
Surveillance video released by the Houston Police Department shows one of the men quickly jump back, which is when Giron said Chompers’ unfriendly attitude kicked in.
“I’m guessing he was scared of the snake,” she said. “The snake kind of went by him and he jumped back.”
That’s what she believes saved her life that day, because both men ran off at that point, and she was able to escape after tossing Chompers to her friend in the front seat of her truck.
Police arrested 17-year-old Sean Flythe and charged him with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon earlier this week related to the incident. He’s shown a history of violence over the last month, according to court documents.
The other suspect hadn’t been caught as of Friday afternoon, according to Houston police.
Giron believes the attempted robbery was a set up and said Chompers has not been the same since.
Now, she may not be the same without him.
“Now I guess he’s staying with me,” she said, laughing.
See surveillance footage of the incident below.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston. Information leading to the charging and/or arrest of any felony suspects may result in a cash payment up to $5,000. Tipsters MUST contact Crime Stoppers DIRECTLY to remain anonymous and to be considered for a cash payment by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitting an online tip at www.crime-stoppers.org or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app.