Don't Mess With Texas: Clown Bandits Attack Couple, Get Beaten Up

TEXAS CITY, TX — Two men were arrested Wednesday after they donned clown masks and used machetes to attack a couple, police said.

Officers were called to a home in the 500 block of 13th Street North for a disturbance.

When police arrived at the home, they were met by a man and a woman, and two men wearing clown masks. The couple, identified as Joseph Nelson and Aretha Cardinal, told officers that the two men came up to them while they were parked in the driveway.

Nelson said he saw the two masked men coming toward them up the driveway. One of the men put a machete to this throat and demanded cash, he told police.

The couple, however, reacted and began fighting with the masked men. Their adult daughter heard the commotion from inside the home and called police.

Nelson told police he took the machete from the clown who threatened him, while Cardinal took on the other one, hitting him with a child's scooter that was in the driveway.

The masked men tried to run from the couple to a waiting car, but the couple chased them down and smashed the car windows with the scooter as officers were pulling up to the home.

The two clowns were identified as Jose Lugo, 35, and Luis Jimenez, 32.

Both were arrested and charged with aggravated robbery, and are in the Galveston County Jail with their bail set at $100,000 each.

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