HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Federal and local authorities arrested 10 people across the Houston area this week, accused of taking part in armed robberies and home invasions.
Homeland Security Investigations said some of the people are suspected of belonging to transnational gangs. Court records obtained by ABC13 identify countries of interest as Mexico, Honduras, and Colombia.
Eight of the suspects are accused of taking part in a violent home invasion in March 2024.
A Vietnamese man told deputies the men forced their way into his west Harris County home, pistol-whipped him in front of his wife and son, and threatened to cut off his fingers.
The suspects are also accused of running the victims’ phones under hot water, then locking the victims in a closet.
The men allegedly made off with jewelry and two safes worth an estimated $4,000.
Arturo Diaz Esparza, William Flores, Roberto Guevara, Kevin Parada, and Miguel Angel Flores-Magana were arrested in connection with the crime on Tuesday.
While investigating the home invasion, court documents say the Harris County Sheriff’s Office learned about a Houston-based burglary ring targeting Asian homes from police in Plano, Texas.
It was a Plano detective who put deputies in touch with someone claiming to know one of the men involved in the home invasion. That man hasn’t been charged, but deputies say he called a Harris County Jail inmate hours after the crime and discussed it.
Another man suspected of the home invasion, Ramon Carranza-Chavez, was arrested Tuesday in Montgomery County.
A month before the home invasion, court documents state Carranza-Chavez, Cristian Banegas-Avila, and Leebayron Villatoro broke into a home near Willis and took a safe with $170,000 inside.
All three men are being held on theft charges and have immigration holds.
Carranza-Chavez hasn’t yet been charged for his alleged role in the home invasion.
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