HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Eight suspects are currently facing criminal charges for breaking into and stealing safes from Family Dollar stores across Harris County.
According to authorities, these individuals are suspected to be part of a nationwide group that targets Family Dollar store safes.
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Russell Parker Jr., Russell Parker Sr., Corey Elam, Monea Parker, and Detra Jenkins were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
Court documents state they stole a safe from the Family Dollar in the 300 block of Aldine Bender Road in north Harris County. The burglary happened on February 16.
After the theft, detectives tracked a signal from a device within the safe, leading police to a home in the 8100 block of Meadow Trail. Officers arrived at the residence and found Parker Jr., Parker Sr., Elam, Parker, and Jenkins with multiple safes, cash boxes, and tools used for cutting into safes.
“Defendants were seen actively participating in attempting to cut into safes inside of the attached garage, placing safes inside of a truck bed and covering them with a cloth, and driving away in vehicles in which large amounts of cash money was recovered,” Court documents stated.
In a separate but potentially related theft, investigators arrested Kenneth Mims, Devonta Develle Cleveland, and Dre Shawn Marquis Anthony for burglarizing the Family Dollar store in the 8800 block of Jensen Drive in North Harris County. The burglary happened on February 17.
The trio broke into the Jensen Drive Family Dollar and stole a safe containing over $14,000, according to arrest documents.
After the burglary, police used a tracking device hidden inside of the stolen safe to find and arrest Mims, Cleveland, and Anthony.
Authorities are currently investigating the trio for their potential involvement in several burglaries and robberies across Harris County and other jurisdictions.
Investigators have not determined why the groups are targeting Family Dollar stores.