Teen accused of assaulting and robbing elderly woman was on parole for a murder he committed four years earlier

A Houston teen who is free on parole after committing capital murder four years ago is now accused of beating and robbing an 81-year-old woman.

Sandra Glenn told ABC 13 she was in her apartment complex’s parking lot on April 3 loading her car when a man approached her. Now, police believe that the man is Benny Simmons, an 18-year-old out on parole after murdering someone when he was 14.

Glenn says he started tugging on the lanyard she wore with her keys and then shoved her to the ground. He then took off in her car — before crashing it into seven other vehicles parked in the lot, Glenn says.

"He started pulling on it, and he was trying to get it over my head," Glenn told KHOU 11.

"Hit my head and, then I was just kind of a shock and he jumped up and ran toward the car," she added.

The incident landed Glenn in the hospital.

Two weeks later, police arrested Simmons. He turned 18 last week, but was 17 at the time of the robbery.

Simmons robbed and killed 21-year-old Shaka Haywood in 2021. At the time, he was already out on probation for multiple robberies.

"Shot my son eight times with no remorse," Haywood's mother Deidra Stewart told ABC 13.

In September 2022, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for capital murder with aggravated robbery. Simmons’s mother tells ABC 13 he accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty in exchange for a guaranteed parole hearing before his 18th birthday.

As a result, the parole board released Simmons five months ago. While in prison, Simmons earned his GED and construction certifications, his mother told ABC 13.

Now, Glenn says the parole board should never have released him if he committed the robbery.

"They shouldn't let somebody go that's vicious and violent because the more I hear about him and what he did, the more it concerns me that something could have happened, really bad to me,” she told KHOU 11. “He could have had a gun and did something to me.”

If Simmons is convicted, his parole would be revoked and he would serve the remainder of his murder sentence. He could also face life in prison for robbing Glenn, given her age.

"I hope he has to serve the time that he's supposed to serve," Glenn told ABC 13.

The 18-year-old is being held on a $100,000 bail.

The Independent was unable to identify Simmons’s attorney for comment.