HOUSTON – A Houston man who was robbed after he posted an ad on Craigslist is speaking out.
He said things are replaceable and he's thankful he wasn't hurt, but he wants to stop this from happening to anyone else.
It happened on the 3200 block of North MacGregor Way in Southeast Houston Thursday morning.
Villagomez agreed to meet a man who wanted to buy the Xbox he had posted on a Craigslist ad.
When Villagomez showed up, two men handed him counterfeit money. When he refused to take the fake bills, they robbed him.
"Next thing you know he says, 'Give me your stuff, give me your stuff!' And I was like 'Is this for real?' and I just picked up a vibe plain and simple, I picked up a bad vibe," said Villagomez.
Villagomez jumped in his car and chased after them. A nearby apartment complex caught them on surveillance video. Villagomez said he knew the two men weren't armed, and he had to catch them for his family.
"The reason for me selling this is because today is my daughter's 18th birthday, and all she wanted was a small TV for her room. This is how I make my living, I can't work because I have to take care of my wife, she suffers from seizures," said Villagomez.
But the Houston Police Department said if you are ever in that situation, just let them go.
"We've always said your stuff is not worth your life, go ahead and give up your property they are trying to steal from you, you can get those replaced," Barry Curtis, senior police officer for HPD, said.
"I don't want this happening to somebody else. In my situation it was a good situation because nothing happened to me, yeah they got me for a couple dollars, but that's replaceable, I'm still alive, I'm still above ground," said Villagomez.
Villagomez recovered the Xbox after the crooks dropped it in nearby bushes.
The thieves got away with several hundred dollars.
Police have not caught the two yet.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).