HOUSTON – Two people are in custody after police said they carjacked and pistol-whipped a woman before leading them on a chase across north Houston.
According to authorities, the carjacking happened around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday at an apartment complex on Inwood Park Drive near West Little York Road in northwest Houston.
Police initially said a woman who had just come home from work was approached by two armed men - identified as Horace Marquese Harris, 20, and Marqui Lamon Davis, 20, - who pistol-whipped her and stole her Jeep Cherokee.
However, KPRC2 Vincent Crivelli spoke with the woman’s daughter, Samantha Mora, who told him the Jeep was hers and she had left the lights on, so her mother, Manuela Mora, went outside to turn them off.
When Manuela Mora went outside, that’s when Harris and Davis approached her and pistol-whipped her, Samantha Mora said.
According to Samantha Mora, Harris and David tried to force her mother into the Jeep and one of them reportedly said to the other, “Just shove her in the car and shoot her."
Manuela Mora fought the men and she was able to run back inside, Samantha Mora said.
"She has like, literally scars on her hand because she literally fought them off," Samantha Mora said. "She was hysterical. She was like, 'Call 911, call 911,' so I called 911."
Harris and Davis took off in the Jeep, but police were able to locate it because Mora had a GPS tracker on the vehicle, Samantha Mora said.
Police attempted to get the driver to stop but he refused and ended up leading authorities on a 10-mile long chase that ended in northeast Houston on Breland Street near Sandra Street when the driver lost control and crashed into a tree, officers said.
Throughout the chase, Samantha Mora was able to give police exact locations using the GPS app. She was also able to see that the chase reached speeds over 100 mph.
The passenger was taken into custody immediately following the crash, but the driver fled on foot, police said.
After searching the area, the second person was bitten by a K-9 officer, who found the carjacker hiding under a trailer in the area, officers said.
Police said Harris and Davis were both in possession of firearms, one of which was stolen. Harris was out on bond for a capital murder charge out of Harris County and Davis has two previous convictions for burglary, officers said.
During the chase, two HPD units crashed into each other and one was sent into a used car dealership, damaging at least four other vehicles, police said.
Samantha Mora said Manuela Mora is now at the hospital getting X-rays of her head and lower back, and her hand is being disinfected because one of the men bit her.
"I mean she was doing pretty bad right now, so hopefully it's nothing serious and we can actually get past this," Samantha Mora said. "Mom is still alive, and like I said (she is a) mother of six. We need her."
Samantha Mora said the Jeep was the family's only method of transportation.
Harris and Davis are expected to face multiple charges, including robbery and evading arrest, investigators said.
Police said no officers were injured during the chase or crash and the HPD vehicles were towed away.