Pregnant woman hides as burglars invade Third Ward home; suspects return and open fire days later

Dangerous home invasion caught on surveillance video

A bizarre home invasion in Houston's Third Ward has a local man demanding some answers. His pregnant partner was forced to hide as intruders broke in. Days later, though, they returned. But this time, one of them opened fire.

Houston - A Houston man is calling for change after a bizarre break-in at his home earlier this month. The incident left his pregnant partner hiding under a bed for nearly 15 minutes, and days later, suspects returned — one reportedly opening fire as the homeowner called 911.

August 5 break-in

Daylan James was at work on August 5 when he received a call from his partner, who was home alone near the 2800 block of Tierwester. She told him that someone was breaking into their house.

Video from a doorbell camera shows one white male and two Black males entering the home.

"The white guy, he could’ve kicked it or whatever, but…the Black kids were behind the gate, and the white guy was encouraging them to just throw rocks on the glass," James said.

Once inside, James said his partner hid under the bed as the men moved through the house.

"As she hears the noise and everything going on, she hides underneath the bed on the second floor," he said. The woman managed to escape to the first floor and out the door while the suspects were still upstairs on the third floor. 

Security measures were inoperable, police responded

Police were dispatched to the scene, but James questioned the speed of their response.

"Where is the police? That was my main concern," he said. "As soon as we call someone in an area like this, and you get a call about a burglary, they should be happy to come over here and deal with something like that."

Despite having a security system in place, James said it failed due to maintenance issues. "Sadly, yes I do have an alarm system…it was on but it’s pretty much our fault. The surveillance company lets you know when battery sensors are bad. It was saying that before, but I didn’t realize that until I got on the phone with them... and did a whole report."

Man takes shower, uses toothbrush during break-in

In a bizarre twist, James said the white male suspect appeared to make himself at home before leaving. 

"He gets naked, takes a shower. Uses our toothbrush. Our loofa, our bar soap and gel soap. He leaves his clothes," James said. "He eats my food, leaves it on the floor, dumps strawberries randomly everywhere." Surveillance footage allegedly shows the same suspect thanking God inside the home: "Thank you Lord, thank you for this mighty and great blessing. A shelter, or a castle."

Burglars return days later with gunfire  

On August 15 — 10 days after the initial break-in — James said two of the same suspects returned. "Two Black males that were entering the house... the same guys that encouraged this white man to go into my house... decided to come back up," he said.

He called police as the men approached, one of them apparently armed.

"One runs on Drew Street going North. The other one goes South clutching on his gun on his belt buckle," James said. "I said, ‘Oh yeah, you guys are screwed.’" He says one suspect fired a gun while he was on the phone with 911.

According to the Houston Police Department, one unit responded to the second incident. No arrests have been made in either case.

James said he's now taking extra steps to secure his home, including buying multiple firearms, installing new cameras, and replacing all the security sensors. "Just prepare, hunker down. It’s the least you could do. You could either move, and deal with it still, or hunker down, just be prepared."

He had a warning for anyone considering targeting homes in his neighborhood.

"Do not come back. I promise you, do not come back. I’m serious," he said. "I tell kids like that, if y’all thinking of doing something like that, especially over here in Third Ward, to people that’s working — you're going to get hurt."