Two of three arrested may be responsible for string of west side home burglaries

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office says there have been a number of burglaries in the Memorial area over the last month. And now, it's seeing a break out of similar burglaries just a few miles away.

The break-ins happened at a neighborhood near the Katy Freeway and Beltway 8. Investigators are now looking to see if there's a connection between crime in these neighborhoods.

It was a very bad Monday for some homeowners in the Autumn Oaks neighborhood near the Memorial area. Some came home to find someone uninvited had been in their house.

"My daughter's house and someone kicked in the door this morning after they left," said Judy Nockolds.

It also turned out to be a very bad Monday for three burglary suspects in the Memorial area. They were picked up by Precinct 5 constable's deputies after a neighbor in the 600 block of Electra saw something suspicious and called.

"One of the patrol officers who arrived on the scene made contact with an individual, his story didn't add up quite right and they discovered it was a burglary in progress at the home next door," Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office Assistant Chief John Laine said.

Investigators say they found Steffen Bales knocking on a door, acting as a distraction to give Dean Denzel Campbell and Nathaniel Sewall time to get away.

Campbell and Sewall were arrested after foot chases.

But the way the trio operated caught the attention of investigators.

"Yeah at this point, we believe these a probably connected to a lot of burglaries that are happening from the Galleria area out to the far west part of Houston," Laine said.

In the Galleria-area burglaries, a burglar knocked on the door to see if someone was home, and if no one was home, the burglars would go around the back and throw a brick through a glass window.

In both, burglars took the same things.

"Principally jewelry, guns and just items they could load in a little bag to carry out," Laine said.

Campbell, Sewall and Bales are not accused of the Galleria burglaries; three other men are charged with those crimes.

And from one of the homes broken into on Monday, a word of advice.

"It's a good reminder for everybody to put the alarm on even if you're just gone for five minutes," Nockolds said.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office says one of the suspects in the Galleria-area burglaries has a court date Tuesday. One of the three, Bobby Ray Powell, is still at large.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Seven arrested in string of bank robberies

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The seventh and final suspect involved in the October robberies of two banks in the northwest sector of Fort Bend County was arrested on a warrant last week.

Fort Bend County Sheriff's deputies, along with US Marshals, arrested Karrmyne Laron Barros, 31, in Houston. He is charged with aggravated robbery and is being held in the Fort Bend County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Barros is the seventh suspect involved in the aggravated robberies of two banks, which occurred within a week's time in early October.

On October 3, the Capital One Bank located in the 23900 block of Westheimer Parkway was robbed by three subjects.

On Thursday, October 6, the second aggravated robbery was conducted by four subjects who hit the IBC Bank in the 10500 block of State Highway 6 South at West Bellfort.

By Tuesday, October 11, Fort Bend County Sheriff's detectives had identified at least two of the suspects in these robberies -- Ashley Ann Jackson, 23, and Johnathan Charles Simmons, 22. By Thursday, October 13, Simmons had been arrested and another suspect, Darius Broussard, 17, had been identified.

"On some of these arrests, we received tips from the Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers hotline, and on the rest, it was good hard work by our detectives," said Captain James Burger of the Sheriff"s Office Criminal Investigation Division.

On Friday, Oct. 14, Jackson surrendered at the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. A warrant for Broussard was sent to Lafayette, Louisiana, and the local police agency arrested him there.

"Our warrants division did an outstanding job of rounding up the remaining suspects who played a role in these two robberies," Burger said.

Along with Simmons, Jackson and Barros, Amyillia Bruno, Dominique Blakley and Broussard were arrested. Farouk Odariko, 24, is being held in the Harris County Jail on a parole violation. He faces two counts of aggravated robbery in Fort Bend County.

Simmons, Bruno and Jackson were identified as the subjects who entered the Capital One Bank on Oct. 3. Broussard joined those three in robbing the IBC Bank on Oct. 6.

Odariko, 24, was identified as a driver in both cases, and Blakley, 17, and Barros also drove vehicles in the second robbery. All suspects are from the Houston area.

Jackson and Bruno face two counts of aggravated robbery with $100,000 bonds on each count.

Simmons faces the two aggravated robbery charges with the same bond amounts, but he also has a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, which has an additional $50,000 bond. He also faces a parole violation.

Broussard has a $100,000 bond on one aggravated robbery charge, while Barros has a $50,000 bond on one aggravated robbery charge.

Blakley, 21, had a bond of $25,000 on one count of aggravated robbery. He posted bail on Dec. 16.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Crime Tracker »

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Two of three suspects in string of thefts arrested

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Authorities are looking for one more woman they say is a part of a crime ring hitting drug stores for something very specific and unexpected. So far they've already arrested two women.

No elaborate plan here. Investigators think the suspects stole when they thought they could get away with it. Their target merchandise was makeup. CVS advertises its good deals on the sign right out front. Although according to precinct 6 deputy constables, three women wanted the best deal of all -- free. "They would simply go in, load 'em up and walk out," Harris County Pct. 6 Cpl. Jarrel Caldwell said. It wasn't well organized, says Caldwell, but for months it was effective. He says the three women would walk into CVS stores grab a basket, load up on makeup and make a run for it -- that is until Monday. That's when Melissa Balderas and Adriana Servantes were arrested at this CVS store on Harrisburg. They're accused of stealing more than $3,000 worth of makeup. It quickly became a broader investigation. "It just began to snowball," Caldwell said. Deputies have linked the women as well as a third, Jessica Balderas to a total of 8 thefts at CVS stores all across the Houston area, as well as one at this Melrose Store in the east end. There, they're accused of stealing $1,200 worth of Capri pants. Many of the stores have surveillance video of the thefts some showing children in tow. All three women face felony charges. Jessica Balderas has yet to be arrested. And Caldwell thinks they could uncover many more crimes. "It seems like going for broke at whatever chance they get; with every opportunity, they take it," he said. Adriana Balderas and Servantes are out of jail on bond. We tried to locate them but couldn't. Investigators don't know what they did with the merchandise they're accused of stealing. They do think the women may have hit more stores so they encourage merchants to contact the Harris County Precinct 6 Constable's Office at 713-923-9156 if they think they've been targets. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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