HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Police say a woman who got people to give her money by claiming to be a domestic violence victim has been arrested for the second time this year.
Joanna King was arrested Oct. 16 for jumping bail after failing to appear in court on an aggregate theft charge connected to what prosecutors describe as an incident that lasted multiple years.
From March 2023 to July 2025, police say King raised more than $3,000 from 12 different women by telling them she needed money for a place to stay after fleeing an abusive husband.
She was frequently accompanied by four children, several victims tell Eyewitness News.
“My heart went out to her. She’s got kids crying in the car. I’m a retired teacher, and I just felt that this woman really needed help,” Deborah Fontaine said.
Fontaine said she encountered King in the parking lot of the West 43rd Street Kroger in June 2023.
She said King even presented her with a phony brochure purporting to be from the Houston Police Department and provided a number for Fontaine to call to corroborate her story.
“This woman said, ‘Yes, HPD Victims Unit. All our safe houses are full. If you could just give her cash, we cannot do credit cards,'” Fontaine said.
The number was disconnected when Eyewitness News tried calling on Wednesday. HPD won’t say if it’s trying to identify the owner and whether they could face any charges.
Fontaine said she ended up withdrawing $300 from the bank and giving it to King.
In July, King was arrested and charged with aggregate theft.
But after bonding out, a search warrant Eyewitness News obtained states police got reports of her telling the same phony story to two other people.
They say she also failed to appear in court in violation of her bond conditions.
After tracking her vehicle using Flock cameras, police arrested King on Oct. 16.
She’s now being held on a $200,000 bond.
CPS told Eyewitness News that two of the “children” who were with King are actually adults.
The other two, ages 8 and 13, have been placed with family.
“She has a lot of gall,” Fontaine said. “And a lot of desperation as well. Or knows how to play the game.”
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