BAYTOWN, Texas – Dickinson police said 25-year-old Joe Javier Rodriguez went into a business to apply for a job. But they said he stole a set of keys on the way out of the business. Police said when he was confronted, he pulled a knife and stole a Toyota Avalon.
Baytown police said Rodriguez drove the stolen car to Joe V's Grocery Store on Garth Road in Baytown Tuesday morning and stole a woman's purse at knifepoint. Police said she dropped her purse and ran. Then police said he stole a pickup.
"He threw me, and he puts the knife in the back and he pushed me. I'm so scared," Cora Aguilar said.
She said her husband was shopping inside the store. She said she was a passenger, sitting in their pickup. Soon she said she felt a knife at her ribs.
"He said, 'Get out! Get out! You open the door!' I need to stop so I can open the door. He say so many bad words," Aguilar said.
She said she told him that after four surgeries, she could not move quickly. She is thankful she survived.
"Soon he's coming. The guy, he's putting the knife in my rib. He run with the truck. I said stop, stop. I'm scared," she said.
Baytown police said Rodriguez drove the stolen pickup about 70 miles to where he was arrested by the Grimes County Sheriff's Office. Aguilar said their pickup is totaled.
Rodriguez was charged with one count of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in Galveston County and two counts in Harris County.
Baytown Police said several witnesses identified Rodriguez from a photo lineup.