10 nabbed in armed robberies targeting wealthy victims

Police said they have made 10 arrests in a crackdown on armed robberies targeting affluent communities in Houston.

The suspects were arrested earlier this month in several robberies in Houston’s Midwest, Southwest and Galleria districts that fit the same pattern, Chief Troy Finner said during a news conference Friday. Authorities will charge some of the suspects in federal court and others in county courts.

Many of the suspects were gang members with violent records, Finner said.

“When I was appointed last month, I said one of my No. 1 priorities was going to be to go after violent criminals, our trigger pullers,” Finner said. “And this is what we’re doing. We have arrested 10 suspects who have been out terrorizing our community.”

Special Agent in Charge Fred

Milanowski said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting police with the cases.

“We will do everything we can at the federal level to take shooters off the streets, to take armed robbers off the streets, and to try to get these violent criminals in custody before somebody really gets hurt or gets killed in these robberies,” Milanowski said.

During the news conference, officials played a surveillance video showing two armed men lunging from a car and robbing a victim who tries to escape through the revolving door at a business. Police did not provide the location of the robbery but said the suspects remain at large.

The suspects typically troll parking lots looking for people driving luxury and exotic cars, wearing expensive jewelry, or visiting high-end shops and restaurants, police said.

Two men were arrested last Friday

when police caught them following a green Lamborghini from a Johnny Dang & Co. jewelry store.

Investigators in January began to notice a trend in these types of robberies, sometimes called “jugging.”

Houstonians should remain vigilant and call police if they believe someone is following them home from a shop or restaurant, Finner said.