A federal grand jury returned an indictment last week charging nine Houston residents with offenses related to eight violent robberies in North Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas.
Specifically, the nine-count indictment, unsealed yesterday afternoon, charges, Jarvis Broussard, aka “Koppo,” 29; Trey Nathaniel Dickerson, 25; Christian Demond Gilbert, aka “Go Getta,” 28; Randy Lamark Hammond, 23; John Christopher Jones, aka “2tall,” 27; Brandon Chermaine Mallet, aka “Wookie,” 31; Chrisheena Ladale Milburn, aka “Beanz,” 27; Fernando Rafael Taylor, 29; and Jonathan Walker, aka “Johnathan Walker,” 31, with one count each of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and at least one additional count of interference with commerce by robbery.
The defendants were arrested today and will remain in custody pending their initial appearances.
The indictment arises out of a series of “jugging” offenses in the Dallas area. “Jugging” is a term informally used to refer to crimes that involve surveilling banks for potential targets suspected of having significant sums of cash and following the targeted victims to other locations where they are robbed. The indictment alleges that, on February 4, 2016 and continuing until at least July 22, 2017, the defendants conspired together to commit several robberies to obtain U.S. currency. The defendants discussed and planned the surveillance and selection of individuals for robbery; the acquisition of property for use in committing robbery; the timing and means of transportation to commit robbery; the roles of participants during the preparation for and commission of robbery; the division of proceeds obtained from robbery; and plans to avoid detection and apprehension by law enforcement.
A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, with assistance from the Dallas, Garland, Irving, and Richardson Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian McKay and Sid Mody are in charge of the prosecution.