HOUSTON – One by one, Harris County sheriff’s deputies brought four aggravated robbery suspects back to the GameStop in the 10000 block of the North Freeway Thursday afternoon for identification.
Three of the four men wore Dekaney High School athletic gear.
They are accused of robbing the store’s employees at gunpoint at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the four were tracked to Dekaney High School.
Officials said they chased the vehicle onto Dekaney High School property, and the men fled on foot.
The school was immediately locked down.
The sheriff said two of the suspects somehow got into the locked school while two others were arrested outside.
A source said one of the teens told investigators he needed money for a senior trip to Six Flags.
Deputies arrested Cregan Glen, Gregory Butler, Jaquan Hale and a fourth student.
Gonzalez said the men had guns on campus.
“If they've done it once, it's a possibility they've done it multiple times," Gonzalez said. "Any time you get a (gun) that's coming onto campus, that's a dangerous combination when you're talking about students and firearms."
The sheriff’s office could not immediately confirm whether the four were Dekaney students.
Parents said the district sent out an automated message alerting parents that the school was locked down.
The Dekaney High School principal posted an online letter to parents.
It said that more students could be in trouble facing possible criminal charges or expulsion.
He said someone inside the school let two of the suspects in what should have been locked doors.
He said the suspects apparently messaged students inside the school in order to gain entry.
"It scared me," parent Juan Perez Sr. said. "(I) called up to the school. A friend of mine messaged me and then so I called my son, FaceTimed him. (I) told him that they were in there."
He said he rushed to the school.
When he arrived, he found dozens of deputies, officers and troopers surrounding the campus. Helicopters hovered above.
His son quickly got out.
"(There were) just people running in and the (assistant principal) saying 'We're on lockdown,'" Juan Perez Jr. said.
Some students, like Treveonte Gray, said they were briefly detained while deputies checked identifications.
"It's tragic because of the fact that it's a place of education. It's not a mall where you meet, fight or anything like that," Gray said.
Two of the three high school students charged in the robbery stood before a judge for the first time Friday morning.
They're charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and one told investigators it's because they wanted to go on a school trip.
“This defendant (Gregory Butler) said that they robbed the game stop so they would have money for their senior high school trip to Six Flags," said the judge. "All of the suspects confessed and were picked out of a lineup."
Prosecutors said Gregory Butler, 18, was one of the gunmen involved in the robbery at the Game Stop Thursday morning. They said Butler threatened an employee multiple times, shoving the gun into his side.
Earlier Friday morning, Cregan Glen, 18, appeared in court wearing a gray Dekaney High School sweatshirt turned inside out.
“The defendant (Cregan Glen) was taken into custody saying he was the driver and knew that there was a robbery that was going to happen,” said the prosecutor.
Prosecutors said Glen, Butler and Jaquan Hale, 18, all robbed the store at gunpoint, but an employee gave them a tracking device in a bundle of cash. Prosecutors said it lead deputies to Dekaney High School where deputies arrested four students.
Sources said three of the four had athletic scholarships to college.
They said the fourth student was not charged because he was only a passenger and a witness.
Hale had not yet appeared in court.
Statement from Spring ISD:
"While assisting the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Spring ISD Police identified and apprehended suspects – who are also Dekaney High School students – inside the school auditorium where they were trying to blend in with other students. Once apprehended, all suspects were turned over to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. A thorough sweep of the school was conducted, and no weapons were found inside the building.
"All three suspects have appeared in court. 18-year-old Cregan Glenn is accused of driving the getaway car. Sources said 18-year-old Gregory Butler and 19-year-old Jawan Hale both had guns."
The Spring Independent School District released a statement Thursday afternoon:
“Please be advised that the lockdown has been lifted at Dekaney High School, and the school plans to dismiss around the normal time of 2:30 p.m. Students will be released in groups to avoid releasing all students at once. Bus service will operate as normal. In addition, the precautionary lockdown at Booker Elementary School has been lifted and they will observe a normal dismissal.”
