11 Charged In A String of 41 Armed Robberies Over A 6 Month Span

HOUSTON -- Eleven alleged gang members accused of committing dozens of armed robberies in southeast Houston and Galveston County, are facing serious criminal charges. According to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, the alleged gang members are connected to at least 41 armed robberies at area meat markets that catered to the Latin community.

“The evidence shows these 0crews robbed everywhere but their own neighborhoods, as they preyed on businesses and terrified innocent people,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “Now they will have to stand in court and face judgement.”

According to court documents filed by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Gangs and Organized Crime Division, crews of masked men would hit the establishments, mostly La Michoacana meat markets.

The suspects would storm the businesses, firing weapons in the air as they demanded cash from the businesses. The robberies almost always happened within a span of just two minutes by the unsophisticated band of robbers.

However, in at least one instance, one of the robbers seized a hostage and held a gun to that person's head and forced the cashier to unlock the check cashing booth, officials said.

Among those charged are defendants who entered the locations and carried out the robberies, as well as the so-called “shot callers” who scouted the locations and planned the crimes.

Two of those defendants were in court on Wednesday, officials said. Charles Johnson, 19, and Keondrick Scyrus, 17, were both arraigned on Wednesday.

Others who have been charged include:

• Merrick West, 21, (federal firearms charge)
• Bryant West, 20, (federal firearms charge)
• Eric West, 26, (federal firearms charge)
• Tom Grant, 18, charged in Harris County and Galveston County (agg rob)
• Jacquez Keli, 18, charged in Harris and Galveston County.(agg rob)
• Jamaris Hayes, 19, charged in Harris County (agg rob)
• Keondrick Scyrus, 17, charged in Harris County. (agg rob)
• Anthony Watterson, 20, charged in Harris County(agg assault)
• Devonte Ransom, 19, is charged in Harris County. (agg rob)
• Brandon Johnson, charged in Harris County (agg rob)
• Charles Johnson, 19, charged in Harris County (agg rob)

More arrests and charges are possible as an investigation continues in coordination with the ATF Crime Gun Strike Force, which consists of local and federal agencies.

“Through the newly established ATF Crime Gun Strike Force, we are working with our partners, including police, prosecutors, and crime labs,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Fred Milanowski said.

Agencies that took part in the investigation included: the Houston Police Department; the Harris County Sheriff’s Office; U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas; the Galveston Police Department; the Beaumont Police Department and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.