‘He left my brother for dead’
Surgery scheduled for Central Mall employee seriously injured in assault
TEXARKANA, Texas — Richard “Jay” Houff has never thought twice about standing up for others, according to his sister, Rashonda Epps.
“When I heard what happened, I was not at all surprised to hear he was defending a coworker. “He has always been the type to stand up for others,” Epps said. “Since this happened, one of his former teachers messaged me and said she remembered a time when he stood up for her. That’s just who he is. He’s a big guy but a gentle guy,” Epps said.
Houff, 32, suffered severe facial trauma Jan. 20 when he was assaulted while working his custodial job at Central Mall.
“It’s been hard but we are pushing through. We are trying to be positive,” Epps said.
Police think the events of the assault started when a female Central Mall employee reprimanded two unsupervised teenage boys who were running around and playing in one of the children’s strollers that are available for rent. When the employee told the teens to stop playing with the strollers, they reportedly became verbally abusive toward her.
Houff intervened, according to police, and asked the boys to leave. However, the boys returned with a man, later identified as Daniel Thomas, 38, of Texarkana, Arkansas.
Thomas allegedly punched Houff in the face, causing him to fall backward onto the floor.
Investigators think Houff was unconscious when he hit the floor but that Thomas reportedly stood over him and hit him in the face at least four more times. He and the boys then left the mall, according to police.
“All the times he has worked there, nothing like that ever happened before. It’s just mind-blowing,” Epps said.
“He has always been the type to stand up for others.”
— Rashonda Epps, Richard Houff’s sister
Thomas and a 14-year-old male have since been arrested in the alleged attack on Houff. Both have been charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury.
Thomas posted bond on a $150,000 bail and was released shortly after his arrest, according to jail records.
Epps said she and other family members are glad arrests have been made but would like to see a charge of attempted murder instead of aggravated assault.
“He left my brother for dead,” she said. “Left him in a puddle of blood.”
Houff was airlifted to a Little Rock hospital after the assault. He suffered fractures to his face and jaw and a concussion.
The worst damage was to his right eye.
Doctors initially would not do surgery on his eye due to swelling, Epps said. Houff has since made three others trips to Little Rock and is expected to have surgery Tuesday, Epps said.
A doctor showed the family scans of where the fractures are.
“The blows pushed bone fragments back to where they are laying on the inner eye. They will have to be lifted,” she said. “His left eye is fine. His right eye is where the damage is,” she said.
Houff has some vision in his right eye and doctors hope to restore full vision.
A doctor from the Eye Institute in Little Rock and an ears, nose and throat doctor will perform the surgery.
“We are praying it’s a oneand-done surgery, but we won’t know for sure,” Epps said.
Houff has been in a lot of pain, his sister said. The assault has been hard on him mentally as well.
“He has his moments. We are trying to keep his spirits up, because he was in a dark space for a while. We tell him he has things to do here, that he is here for a reason.”
Houff’s girlfriend and family members remain at his side, Epps said.
“We take shifts,” she said.
He can’t eat solid food yet and is mainly eating apple sauce and drinking protein shakes.
Houff grew up in Texarkana and graduated from Liberty-eylau High School. He has worked various jobs over the years, including at Walmart and Taco Bell.
Houff has worked at Central Mall for years, Epps said. He started working at the mall as a security guard. He moved to Louisiana for a while and when he returned to Texarkana he went back to the mall to work as a custodian.
“He has always been a hard worker and very dependable,” Epps said. “He is ready to get back to work now,” she said.
When he is not working, Houff enjoys playing video games and watching “Game of Thrones.”
“He is a homebody,” Epps said.
Epps said she and other family have been heartened by support from the community.
“People are outraged by this,” she said.
A Go Fund Me account for Houff’s medical expenses had raised more than $17,000 as of Friday. A fundraiser at Chickfil-a in Central Mall raised $850 for the account.
Epps said she and her family are trying to stay positive and upbeat.
“You stay positive in front of him, but at the end of the day, when you lay down and start thinking about it all, it’s hard. No one should have to go through what he is.”