HOUSTON – A Houston man who has served several state prison sentences is now accused of six violent felonies after a string of crimes that left three North Harris County park-goers terrified.
Josue Carranza, 42, is in the Harris County Jail accused of aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault. His total bond is $500,000 and records show bond hasn’t been set for two of the charges.
The alleged crimes happened March 26 at Clark Park on Clark Road, not far from Carranza’s listed home address.
Carranza is accused of approaching three young adults who were at the park for a workout and forcing them to empty their pockets at gunpoint.
"He then forces complainant one into a vehicle and made her drive to the ATM where he took her money. He then forced her to drive him to the store and then back to the park where he sexually assaulted her,” a Harris County hearing officer said during Carranza’s probable cause court hearing.
It’s not clear how long the string of crimes lasted, but a source familiar with the investigation said a police helicopter with an infrared camera spotted the sexual assault in progress.
Families packed the park on Friday evening, as young children played on playground equipment and other children practiced baseball. Some worked out while others enjoyed the nice weather.
“It’s pretty family oriented. There’s always a bunch of people here,” frequent park-goer Saul Bustamante said. “It’s not 100 percent safe, but it’s a good park.”
Of the six families KPRC 2 spoke with, all said they felt generally safe at the park, but they were shocked and disturbed to hear about Carranza’s alleged crime spree.
HPD data from the last 30 days shows several assaults in the neighborhood around the park but nothing quite like these allegations.
“This is Houston, I mean, we got to take care of the kids. We gotta, you know, take care of each other, always be aware of your surroundings,” Bustamante said.
Records show prosecutors have filed a request with the judge to hold Carranza without bond.