HOUSTON — Four men who broke into at least 76 mom-and-pop businesses in Houston were charged after a seven-month crime spree, the Harris County District Attorney's Office confirmed.
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Augustine Uresti and Ricardo Middleton are charged with engaging in organized crime. Torrean Potts and Ronnie O'Bryant are charged with burglary and arson.
The smash-and-grab burglars got away with over $300,000 in cash and caused over $100,000 in damages to bars, restaurants and small businesses, the HCDAO said.
The burglaries happened between October 2023 and April 2024. The businesses targeted included spots downtown, in the Heights and in Montrose. Pink's Pizza, Porch Swing Pub, Tepatitlan Mexican Grill, Pollo Campero and Stick Talk - Cajun Hibachi were among the dozens of restaurants broken into. Prosecutors say the suspects were caught in the act at Pink's Pizza.
Phoenix on Westheimer was also hit by the smash-and-grab crew in April, according to owner Vu Troung.
"They broke through the doors, broke through another door, broke through a third door," Troung told us. "They cut through the safe and stole a lot of cash."
Mark Clayton’s business, Squable, in the Heights, was targeted a few months earlier.
"It’s a little scary I guess since it’s so many," Clayton said. "Cut us some slack, you know, we’re just, like, working hard trying to provide for our families and our staff and it'd be nice to just be left alone."
Jacob Selena with the Organized Crime Division at the district attorney's office said some of the places that were hit lost so much money that they had to shut down.
Selena said multiple agencies worked on the case for over a year "due to the extensive, terror and damage that these defendants caused across the county."
He said it's possible the ring was responsible for other burglaries so they aren't releasing their mug shots yet.
"I’m just happy they were caught," Troung told us.
A judge denied Bond for Potts Thursday because he was out on bond for another burglary case when he was arrested, according to Selena.
Middleton was given an $80,000 bond.
Uresti is due in court tomorrow.
O'Bryant was arrested in Smith County and will be extradited to Harris County.