HOUSTON – Police said Wednesday they arrested seven people in connection with a string of burglaries that not only targeted homes in a wealthy Houston neighborhood but also across three other counties.
According to Houston police, members of the crew broke into several homes in River Oaks and also burglarized homes in Brazoria, Fort Bend and Galveston counties.
Members of the group would use social media to determine which homes to target and would follow victims for several days to learn their schedule before breaking into their home, police said.
"This group took it to the next level," said Detective J.P. Varela, of the Houston Police Department. "They did research on particular homes. If somebody bragged about what they had in their house, they'd do research on those houses and they would target that particular house."
VIDEO: Police discuss arrests in rash of River Oaks burglaries
Morello said that in some cases, members of the group might have even posed as guests at big parties thrown at the homes in order to determine what was inside.
According to police, the following suspects face the following charges in connection with the case:
- Nicholas Johnson, 37, is charged with burglary of a habitation and theft.
- Nicholas Brown, 35, is charged with two counts of burglary of a habitation and two counts of theft.
- Andre Miles, 35, is charged with burglary of a habitation.
- Julian Franklin, 33, is charged with burglary of a habitation and theft.
- Archie Thompkins, 44, is charged with theft.
- Gashara Bradshaw, 33, is charged with burglary of a habitation.
- Jasmine Maynes, 30, is charged with possession/use of fraudulent identification and possession of a controlled substance.
In May, Johnson and Franklin were arrested in connection with a $5 million heist at the home of Houston mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee in February.
According to police, authorities expect some of the suspects to also face charges in Fort Bend County.
Police said some of the artwork, jewelry, computers and guns that were stolen during the crime spree has been recovered, but the public's help is needed to track down some of the remaining artwork that is valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"The suspects may have hidden this artwork in someone's house or a family member's house and the family member or friend might not even realize this artwork is stolen," Varela said.
A $50,000 reward is being offered in the case.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Houston Police Department's Major Offenders Division at 713-308-3100.