11 alleged gang members charged in dozens of meat market robberies across Houston area

Merrick West, 21,  Bryant West, 20, and Eric West, 26, all face federal firearms charges in connection with the robberies.  Tom Grant, 18,  and Jacquez Keli, 17, both face aggravated robbery charges in Harris and Galveston Counties.

Anthony Watterson, 20, was charged with aggravated assault in Harris County. Five others were charged with aggravated robbery in Harris County, including Jamaris Hayes, Keondrick Scyrus, Devonte Ransom, Brandon Johnson and Charles Johnson.

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

The suspects included people who physically carried out the robberies and the “shot callers” who scouted the locations and planned the crimes, the release said.

Most of the robberies lasted about two minutes. The suspects would usually fire guns into the air then snatch cash from the register and check cashing booths, the release said.

In one instance, a suspect held a customer at gunpoint to force the cashier to unlock the check cashing booth, which was protected by ballistic glass, the release said.

The press release did not specify the suspect’s associated gangs. Authorities said most meat markets were located in Harris County, as well as the Galveston and Beaumont areas.

More arrests are possible, the release said.

The agencies who assisted in the case include the Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and 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 also investigated.