A woman suspected in several local home invasions and robberies has been arrested by Houston Police on a Sugar Land warrant, the Sugar Land Police Department announced Thursday.
| Rafaela Davila |
Rafaela Davila, 41, of Houston, was arrested July 18 with the assistance of the Houston Police Department’s Westside Tactical Unit, Sugar Land police said. A spokeswoman said the department didn’t announce the arrest immediately for fear of hampering their investigation.
Davila was charged with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony. She is in Fort Bend County Jail under $200,000 bond.
The woman is accused of taking part in a June 12 home invasion in the 700 block of Lakeshore Drive in Sugar Land, police said.
Police responded to that incident and learned that a woman in a residence there had been pushed to the ground and held at gunpoint while her house was ransacked and robbed.
The victim told police a woman – whom police now believe was Davila – rang the doorbell. When the victim opened the door, three men appeared and pushed their way inside.
“The victim was placed on the floor at gunpoint, tied up and taken to the master bedroom while the suspects stole property from the residence. The suspects then fled in an unknown direction,” a June 12 police report said.
On Thursday, police said Davila “is known to be affiliated with Colombian nationals and is suspected of being involved in other home invasions in the area.”
FortBendNow has reported several home invasions over the past few months. In at least two, robbers gained entry after home owners opened their doors to an Hispanic woman.
In late June, five or six people dressed in black forced their way into a an east Fort Bend County home, terrorized a 6-year-old girl and 58-year-old woman and made off with cash and jewelry.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to the house, in the 9300 block of Floral Crest Drive south of the Westpark Tollway in Eagle Wood subdivision, after the woman was able to free herself.
Investigators were told the 6-year-old girl answered the doorbell to find a woman standing outside dressed all in black, who asked for the girl’s father, according to sheriff’s reports.
When the girl said her father wasn’t there, two armed men burst into the home. “One of them grabbed the child, told her they were with the police, led her to the laundry room, and instructed her to stay there until otherwise told,” sheriff’s reports said.
Another suspect tied the woman resident’s hands and forced her to the ground. The robbers ransacked the house, and left with an undisclosed amount of cash, jewelry and a camcorder, police reports said. “Although extremely terrified, the victims were not harmed.”
Another rash of home invasions occurred early this year. In instances in January, some robbery suspects were believed to be Colombian, according to police reports.
