Families robbed by men posing as Centerpoint Energy workers

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A warning for you. Several people have been robbed in their own home by men pretending to be CenterPoint Energy workers.

Most of us won't open the door to an unfamiliar face but when that stranger on the other side says he's with a reputable company the lock typically comes off, the door is opened and quite possibly that's when the terror begins. That's what happened to a family in Northwest Harris County. Two guys knocked on the door. "I looked through the peep hole. I see two guys dressed in construction outfits," explains Paul, a teenager who was home alone. The teen says the men said they were with Centerpoint Energy so he opened the door and they said

"We're looking for Cassandra and I'm like you have the wrong house. I tried to close the door and he put his foot in the door and pulled out a gun and had me at gun point," explains Paul.

The teen was put on the floor, handcuffed behind his back and the thieves started demanding jewelry and cash. "They had me at gunpoint and they were walking me through the house trying to find stuff". The teen says when he told the two guys he didn't know where valuables were, he was slammed in the head with the gun.

"It was pretty frightening".

"The main thing is he was safe. They took jewelry, clothes, anything they could get their hands on," explains Shelby, Paul's dad. Shelby says the thieves also stole a gun.

Since the violent home invasion. "We got new guns and upgraded our camera system, bought him a shotgun and he's been going to the shooting range. I guess that's pretty much all you can do to defend your home," says Shelby. He admits since this happened last week he hasn't been able to sleep.

"They can have all the material stuff if I can get back the comfort of feeling violated," explains Shelby.

The teen says the thieves were not wearing masks or gloves. He says they finally left the house leaving him handcuffed upstairs where he was able to call for help. Investigators confirm they are looking into more than one recent case of men posing as CenterPoint workers, forcing their way into homes.

Centerpoint Energy says workers usually do not need to come inside your home and will always arrive in a marked truck, wearing a CenterPoint uniform and they have a work identification badge but before you open your door you can certainly call CenterPoint at (713) 207-2222 to see if a worker is at your home.