A 43-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday in the Houston area after carjacking a truck and engaging in a destructive spree, according to surveillance footage and court documents. Chaninthorn Cuney, of Louisiana, was taken into custody in Harris County following the incidents.
The events began at a gas station in eastern Houston, where Cuney was captured on camera wielding a knife and damaging a parked car. The footage then shows her approaching a white truck occupied by a man, threatening him with the knife, and a struggle ensuing during which the knife was placed against his neck. Cuney eventually forced the man out of the truck and took possession of the vehicle.
She proceeded to ram the stolen truck into the black car she had previously attacked, as well as the adjacent gas pump. The truck was then driven into a second car parked at the station. Surveillance cameras recorded these events.
Following the incidents at the gas station, Cuney drove approximately 13 miles east to Baytown, where she crashed into a postal truck. When the postal worker exited to investigate, Cuney reportedly brandished the knife and made threatening motions towards him.
Authorities apprehended Cuney after she drove to an Exxon refinery and rammed one of its gates. She was booked into the Harris County jail and faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. She is being held without bond, with her next court appearance scheduled for Thursday.
During a probable cause hearing, Cuney claimed she was a victim of identity theft when asked about needing legal representation. Records indicate a history of similar behavior; in 2020, she was arrested in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, for a vehicular rampage where she allegedly took a car and crashed it into multiple vehicles and a house. For that incident, she was charged with felony criminal damage to property and reckless operation of a motor vehicle with an accident.
Further records show Cuney was arrested in 2021 in Louisiana and charged with felony criminal damage to property for allegedly spray-painting a vehicle. She failed to appear in court in February 2022, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was apprehended approximately three months later.
