Man Wielding Rat Trap Breaks Into Houston Lighting Store

A man threw a concrete rat trap through the glass door of Estelles Lighting on Wednesday, and the family that owns the company, while hoping that the thief is apprehended, is not bitter.

"If I wish him the worst, what benefit am I going to get?" Sana Batol told KTRK. "You know he's gonna be more bitter. Somebody else is gonna be the victim. So you have to wish someone always the best so they can learn from it and it will benefit the whole world."

Batol, whose family founded Estelles Lighting eight years ago at 12603 Farm to Market Road 529, arrived at the store on Wednesday morning and discovered a hole in the door and glass on the lobby floor. Security cameras on the premises captured images of a man using the trap to break through the door; he then opened a safe in the office and emptied it of its cash.

Patch spoke to an employee at the store on Thursday, who said the safe was locked, and that the suspect opened it in less than three minutes. He was identified as a black male wearing a dark sleeveless shirt and long shorts.

"He opened it, he took all the cash in there. That was quite an amount of cash, a substantial amount of cash," Batol said. She added that her brother-in-law's prayer rug had been taken from a desk drawer and thrown on the floor.

"It's just really sad to see people... They have a need to do that, you know, hurt others, for their own benefit," Batol said. "But you know, God's watching them, so even if they don't get caught, even if we're not watching them, God's watching them."

Anyone with information concerning the break-in at Estelles Lighting can contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office at 713-221-6000.

— Image: Estelles Lighting