Police say gang activity on the rise in Houston suburbs

Police say gang activity on the rise in suburbs

By Cindy Horswell
August 22, 2014 | Updated: August 23, 2014 9:45pm

Doug Donnenfield used to feel safe living in what he perceived as the cocoon-like environment of The Woodlands, with its upscale amenities, winding trails and parks.

But that was before the retired insurance consultant was blindsided by three robbers 10 months ago while he was seated in his car in 24-Hour Fitness' parking lot.






The robbers punched Donnenfield, shoved two gun muzzles in his face and then grabbed the 67-year-old's wallet and cellphone. The trio fled in a stolen car, leading police on a high-speed chase with helicopters whooshing overhead before crashing south of downtown Houston.

Authorities have identified the three as gang members, and the crime spree exemplifies what law enforcement officials say is a growing problem: Brazen Houston gang members spreading their mayhem into the suburbs, from Fort Bend County to the southwest to Montgomery County to the north.

Texas' public safety director, Steven McGraw, recently warned that "gang violence and crime are a chief threat to public safety in Texas." This followed release of a state report this year that found gang membership across Texas may exceed 100,000 individuals and there is a high concentration in the Houston region.

The Houston-area gangs are migrating to the suburbs because they think they won't "be policed and recognized" there as on their own turf, and then after committing crimes, they can race back to Houston to hide, authorities say.

Another reason for the shift is that Houston and Harris County have the tactical experience and resources to aggressively combat the gangs, driving them into the suburbs, said Detective Jennifer Kiser, Fort Bend County's gang expert. She said her county has experienced Houston gangs making raids there and now has 1,800 documented gang members living in Fort Bend.

With gangs on the move, law enforcement officials in suburban communities are developing their own strategies for countering them.

The assignment of Kiser as Fort Bend County's gang specialist is a first for that suburb.

Montgomery County recently approved the hiring of 25 deputies, and Sheriff Tommy Gage is establishing the county's first gang task force by the end of the year. The task force members will gather intelligence and work alongside their Houston counterparts."We can't ignore it. They're here," Gage said.

'Need to wake up'

Donnenfield knows that well. The three robbers who targeted him were linked to four more incidents that same night where Harris County residents - including a three-time Purple Heart veteran - were terrorized and robbed at gunpoint in parking lots, prosecutors said.

"People around here need to wake up about the gangs," warned Donnenfield. "I used to feel safe in The Woodlands until we started experiencing all these robberies. It was horrifying to stare down the barrel of a gun. I suffered post-traumatic stress for months afterwards. I was afraid to even get out at night or drive."

In the last 14 months, Montgomery County sheriff's detectives have identified 23 Houston gang members whom they've charged with seven aggravated robberies.

Houston gangs are on a quest for new money sources and see the suburbs as an untapped gold mine. Both Houston's and the Texas Department of Public Safety' latest reports on gangs talk about a new generation of gang members, who are evolving and using a different business model in which opposing gangs will sometimes collaborate on profitable criminal ventures and not waste resources fighting over turf. Robberies are seen as one of those lucrative enterprises.

"These guys like to work in crews of three or more. Not all are from the same gang," explained R.A. Trevino, a Houston police officer who's investigated gangs for six years. "They often use stolen cars. Because by the time a license plate is entered into the system, the gang gets a few hours to do more crimes before hijacking another car."

Mark Schmidt, the Harris County sheriff's gang specialist, concurred.

"For some gangs," he said, "it's all about making money."

While crime overall is on a downward trend - it fell by 1.7 percent in Houston for the first six months of this year - the number of robberies is on the rise. During the same span, robberies increased by nearly 2 percent to 3,888 incidents.

Aggressive, violent

"These gang robberies are not something we're used to seeing," said Montgomery County's chief of detectives, Bruce Zenor, "They're getting more aggressive and violent."

Robbery crews are heavily armed with everything from handguns to sawed-off shotguns and take on a Wild West persona when they commandeer a business, authorities say.

The crews never seem to care if customers are present when they "take over" a storefront or restaurant chain or organize "smash-and-grab" robberies at mobile phone or jewelry stores, said Phil Grant, an assistant district attorney in Montgomery County.

"I had a lot of ticked-off parents calling me 10 months ago when two McDonald's restaurants were robbed in The Woodlands by armed gunmen a week apart," Montgomery County Commissioner James Noack said. "High school kids were there, and there was some shooting."

To gain entry to the McDonald's, the robbery crews crawled through drive-thru windows and accosted the employees before taking over the eateries - as has happened multiple times at McDonald's restaurants in Harris County. The armed robbers disguised themselves by wearing hoodies and handkerchiefs across their faces. One robber fired a shot from his handgun that ricocheted off of the car of a witness who had tried to see the getaway car's license plate.

The only arrest so far has been of Justin Harris, 20, who admits to membership in Houston's Gunna Boys gang, said Montgomery County police Detective Chris Ansley.

Restaurant invasion

In similar fashion, customers of the IHOP restaurant on Interstate 45 in The Woodlands didn't need coffee to wake them up last month when four armed men stormed the establishment, cussing at the customers as they went table to table taking their money before fleeing.

While Houston gangs are suspected of involvement there as well as in multiple IHOP raids in Harris County, no arrests have been made.

The smash-and-grab robberies also leave behind terrified customers and employees, such as after three armed men - one carrying a sawed-off shotgun - rushed the Thomas Markle Jewelers near Market Street in the heart of The Woodlands in broad daylight last month. All the customers and employees were forced to lie on the floor. The robbers used hammers and a crowbar to smash the glass cases and fill their knapsack with Rolex watches and other loot before fleeing in an overdue rental car.

Schools feel impact

After their getaway car crashed in Houston and they were apprehended, Montgomery County prosecutor Rob Freyer identified the robbers as being members of the 44 Acres Homes and Rollin 60s Crips gangs in Houston.

Schools are also feeling the impact and trying to be proactive. In the Spring Independent School District on Harris County's northern edge, the community is still recovering from the fatal stabbing of a student and the wounding of three others in what authorities say was a gang-related incident at one of its high schools nearly a year ago.

Spring's police department has since established its own gang suppression unit to raise awareness and monitor gang activity. The district has also developed connections with area law enforcement agencies to share information and encourage student reporting on tip lines such as iwatchharriscounty.com.

That's because gangs can still clash over turf, as has been seen when social media draws opposing gangs to a birthday party or rival gangs go to the same nightclub and shootouts occur, authorities say.

Noack, the Montgomery County commissioner, said the FBI is also getting more involved: "They told us that they are repurposing some of the counter*terrorism manpower to offset gang activity and wanted our help."

In the end, authorities say, gang members might start paying attention as their members are convicted and serve long prison sentences. Two of the three men convicted of robbing Donnenfield have received lengthy sentences, with other charges pending.

After being sentenced this month to 45 years in prison for one of the five robberies, at the 24-Hour Fitness, Tevaris Coleman, 20, apologized in court to Donnenfield. But he denied that he was in the car when the robbery took place and said he only got in afterward.

In a statement to the court after the sentencing, Donnenfield praised investigators. But then he turned and told Coleman: "I am also sad. You are the same age as my son, and there are so many things in life that you will miss" because of the choices he made.

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