Ex-Galleria security guard held in mall sex assaults

Houston police have arrested a man who they say sexually assaulted at least two women in Galleria parking garages. Colby Dmon Minix, a former Galleria security guard, is being held without bond in connection with the assaults and with two aggravated robberies that also happened at the mall.

Minix was caught, it turns out, thanks to the quick thinking of his latest would-be victim. On Friday night, the woman had gotten off work at the Galleria and was returning to her car in one of the mall garages when she ran into Minix, who held a gun to her head and demanded oral sex. He had her get into her car and drive to a restaurant on Westheimer about a mile west of the Galleria; there, she told Minix she needed to go to the restroom, and while she was there she wrote a message on the mirror in lipstick saying that she needed help. She also managed to let a waitress at the restaurant know that she was in trouble, so the waitress called the police, who showed up and arrested Minix. "There's no doubt he was caught in the act," HPD Lt. Mike Waterwall told the Chronicle. "This young lady was amazing because she did everything she could to get this guy in a position that ultimately led to his capture."

After police took Minix into custody, he told them he had abducted and sexually assaulted a woman in a Galleria parking garage in January; detectives said his experience as a security guard meant he knew where all the Galleria's security cameras were located, so he was able to avoid them. Police are investigating whether Minix was involved in other crimes: "There's the possibility that there could be other victims, so we're looking at other cases," Waterwall said.