Robberies in Houston's Chinatown spark community appeal for help

A shopper loads her groceries into the trunk of her car after shopping at Jusgo Supermarket Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, in Houston. Shoppers avoid shopping in Chinatown during the night hours to protect against an uptick in daylight robberies against Asians in the parking lots. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and top Houston Police Department brass will attend a community meeting in Chinatown to address a rash of robberies that didn't subside after a community effort last summer. less A shopper loads her groceries into the trunk of her car after shopping at Jusgo Supermarket Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, in Houston. Shoppers avoid shopping in Chinatown during the night hours to protect against an ... more Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Robberies in Houston's Chinatown spark community appeal for help 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The brazen, daylight heists happen in seconds.

A woman loading a shopping cart full of groceries into her SUV is attacked by a man who jumps from a vehicle, grabs her purse and shoves the woman so hard she falls.

She tries to give chase as the car speeds away, then spins around, dazed and breathless.

In another, a man jumps from a dark car, flings open the passenger door of a parked minivan and grabs a pocketbook from a woman's lap.

The robberies — captured on surveillance videos — are among an ongoing string of crimes targeting members of Houston's Chinese community. Now the community is making another appeal for help.

On Saturday, Chinatown residents and business owners will convene a safety seminar with Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, police and other officials to address the continuing rash of robberies in southwest Houston and other areas with large Asian populations. The meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Chinese Community Center, 9800 Town Park Drive.

Read more: Asian community joins arms against crime

Recent concerns about grocery store attacks along Bellaire Boulevard shopping centers have curtailed shopper visits after dark, which is affecting commerce, according to Jessica Chen, an immigration lawyer and community activist who organized the meeting.

"Everybody feels fear," she said. "People just don't want to go to Chinatown right now. It's already affected businesses and the customers of the supermarkets."

Crime problems in Chinatown — which is centered generally east of the Sam Houston Tollway and north of Beechnut — have continued since last summer when area leaders and business people wrote Mayor Sylvester Turner about the "increasingly intolerable" situation. The issue also sparked demonstrations staged in the Galleria area to gain greater attention.

Officials from the Houston Police Department's Westside Station declined to discuss particulars of their efforts before the safety seminar, but have increased officer visibility and crime reduction initiatives.

"We are aware of the issues that have been occurring and we're taking them very seriously," HPD spokesman Victor Senties said. "We are currently working with the community and our partners to inform them on crime prevention and reporting."

Read more: Protesters demand more police protection for Chinatown neighborhood

Ogg will discuss how prosecutors are addressing crimes in the area, according to spokesman Dane Schiller.

Residents will appeal to new law enforcement leaders this time. Ogg took office in January and HPD Chief Art Acevedo began leading the department late last year.

Chen survived a robbery in July 2016 as she was leaving her Chinatown office late one night. Two men took her purse and keys and sped off in her BMW SUV with her iPhone. Chen's stolen vehicle was found the next day in Fort Bend County after the teen driver rear-ended another vehicle.

Chinatown merchants who live in Fort Bend County have been followed home and robbed in their driveways, which moved Chen to also invite a representative of the Fort Bend County District Attorney's office to the meeting, she said.

Community awareness has been heightened by the videos posted by HPD's robbery division. That footage has circulated widely and sparked a particular concern in Asian immigrant communities, Chen said. The woman whose purse was stolen from the shopping cart was loading groceries outside the Hong Kong Food Market location near the Gulf Freeway in southeast Houston.

"Most of the victims are Chinese females – when they are shopping, when they are parking their cars, when they go to their cars," Chen said. "The criminals just jump out and grab their bags. This is a kind of a typical crime. The criminals seem to be professionals. In under 2 minutes, they're finished."

Chen wants a renewed response from police and other officials.

"I want to let the local government know that something is happening in Chinatown and people need to take action," Chen said. "It's time for people in this community to do something to prevent this."