HOUSTON – A pregnant woman who was trying to buy a car from someone she met online, was instead robbed at gunpoint, according to Houston police.
Police say they managed to arrest the alleged robber because he actually handed his information to the victim.
Andrea Silva tells Channel 2 she met Adrian Ballard, 20, on a Facebook auto trading page March 25. She said that same day she agreed to buy Ballard's used car for $2,600.
Silva said Ballard changed his mind about the meeting place twice, before they ultimately decided on the Stripes gas station on 1402 Federal Road.
"There was a lot of workers there," Silva said of the gas station. "That's the reason we wanted to meet there."
Silva was accompanied by her husband and young son. She says Ballard told her he was bringing his friend Elijah, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Police said both Silva and Ballard got out of their vehicles to make the deal.
"He asked me if I had the money," Silva said of Ballard. "I said, 'Yeah' and I gave him the money."
That's when she said Elijah pulled out a gun.
"He was pointing it at me and he just told me not to follow him," Silva recalled. "I was scared. I'm pregnant. I was really, really scared."
Silva's husband said he thought first of protecting the couple's young son.
"(Elijah) looked at me and made eye contact with me," Hector Salas said. "I could just read his lips. And I'd seen the tip of the barrel. My son comes first so I just watched him drive off with our money."
After the initial shock wore off, Silva said she remembered that Ballard had actually given her a receipt before the robbery.
"That's another reason why we never saw it coming," Silva explained. "He gave us all his real information."
From there, police were able to track down and arrest Adrian Ballard. He was in the Harris County Jail Thursday, charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
According to state records, Ballard was already on probation for forgery and evading arrest.
Houston police say officers also arrested Elijah Dupas, 20, and Joel Lamon, 19, in connection to the crime.