HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — What was meant to be a fun night for a father and son at a Houston Rockets game ended with the teen detained after his dad says he was wrongfully accused of stealing from the team store.

The family said he was eventually released after they showed officers their receipt, but they said that came after he was handcuffed and escorted through the arena.

“Helpless. Scared. Intimidated. These are some of the feelings that crossed my mind,” the father, Mark Cepeda, said.

Mark said he and his 18-year-old son, Noah Cepeda, immediately went to buy a jersey when they arrived at the Toyota Center on Tuesday night.

“He picked one out. He tried it on,” Cepeda said. “We went and paid and we were off to our seats.”

But on the way to their seats, Mark said Noah was stopped.

“They claimed that the hat that he was wearing may have been taken,” Mark said.

After inspecting the hat, they said security realized it wasn’t from the Rockets store and let him go.

However, about 30 minutes later, the Cepedas said two officers approached them at their seats.

“They said, ‘I don’t really want to cause a scene here, but if you guys can come with us, we have a couple of questions for you guys,'” Mark said.

So, the Cepedas said that’s what they did, and then things took a turn for the worse. They said less than a minute later, as they were walking, an officer tells another officer to handcuff Noah.

“It was just humiliating. Just walking past everybody, staring at me like I’m a criminal,” Noah said.

They said officers told them arena cameras showed Noah stealing.

“No one has asked me like, did we have proof of purchase? And you know, like they didn’t really give any details on what exactly we did wrong,” Mark said.

The Cepedas said several officers and Toyota Center security took Noah to an office for questioning.

Outside the room, Mark said he told officers he had proof of purchase.

He said once officers saw that, they apologized and called it a misunderstanding.

“No, it was not alright,” Mark said. “No, it wasn’t a simple misunderstanding.”

ABC13 reached out to the Houston Police Department about this. They said an officer was told by security that the teen they pointed out had stolen from the team shop.

When we asked why Noah was handcuffed, the department said it is their policy to place an individual in handcuffs whenever they are being detained for questioning.

“You would think they’d be more definitive about something like this before they put me in handcuffs,” Noah said.

A Toyota Center representative sent a statement to ABC13 that said they are aware of the incident and they are reviewing it carefully.

“While we cannot comment on the Houston Police Department’s policies and procedures, we acknowledge that it occurred in our venue, and we remain committed to safety, security, and respect for every guest,” the statement read.

The representative said they plan on reaching out to the family about this situation as well.

But now, these lifelong Rockets fans said they’re not sure they’ll ever return.

“How do I ever go back there and feel safe? They don’t only have Rockets games,” Mark said. “They have comedy shows. They have concerts. They have all kinds of things in this arena. It’s like, do I ever want to go to anything now?”

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