U.S. Marshals arrest suspect on the run

UPDATE: The fourth suspect wanted in connection with the Flower Mound home invasion on Dec. 7 has been arrested – bringing to five the number of people in custody. Octavius Dejon Scott, 22, was arrested without incident early Thursday by U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Task Force in Houston. Scott is currently in custody in Houston on a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and could face other charges in connection with other aggravated robberies across North Texas.

Flower Mound police are extending their thanks to Allen, carrollton, Coppell and Lewisville police departments as well as members of the East Texas Task Force and Golf Coast Task Force of the U.S. Marshal’s Office for their work in identifying, locating and bringing Scott and the other suspects into custody.Four suspects are now in custody in connection with a spree of home invasions, including one in Flower Mound, and the recovery of stolen property at a home in Carrollton.

Scott was considered one of the masterminds behind the home invasions not only in North Texas but around the U.S., police have said.

Allen police arrested Chaka Castro, 39, on Tuesday while executing a search warrant on a house in Carrollton which had been under police surveillance since Saturday, shortly after the Allen home invasion. Castro was booked into Collin County Jail on a theft charge in connection with possession of stolen property, said Allen Police Sgt. John Felty.

Police recovered a large amount of jewelry, cash, electronics and other items – some of which have been tied to crimes committed in Flower Mound, Allen and Coppell, Felty said, leading officials to believe the spree of crimes in North Texas were connected.

Due to the amount of stolen property, police also believe other offenses have been committed and are looking into connections to similar crimes in the area as well as in Michigan, New York, New Jersey and Georgia. Police say additional suspects and charges could be connected to any additional offenses they connect with the spree.

Flower Mound police captured Johnisha Ann-Marie Williams, 19, at the scene of the home invasion in the Suncrest neighborhood. Williams is charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and is being held on $50,000 bond.

Juan Fernando Olaya, 34, has been charged with aggravated robbery and failure to identify. He is also under a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer, according to the Carrollton Police Department.

Rodney Ray Granger, 19, is charged with two counts of evading arrest or detention and resisting arrest, search or transportation.

Lewisville police have obtained warrants for robbery charges against Granger and Olaya in connection with the incident in Lewisville where three men took a vehicle from a man. Bond was set for $100,000 for each charge. Both men remain in custody at the Carrollton Police Department.

The crime spree started Sunday night at 9 p.m. when three males and a female armed with handguns, wearing ski masks, forced their way inside the home of a family of six in the 5600 block of Suncrest Drive in Flower Mound. The incident was the latest in a series of home invasions across North Texas targeting families of Indian descent, according to FMPD Capt. Wess Griffin.

One of the victims was able to call 911 and police arrived three minutes later, according to FMPD Capt. Kurt Labhart. A family member was assaulted during the home invasion, but no serious injuries were reported, police said.

Williams, the alleged driver of the getaway vehicle was taken into custody by Flower Mound police, Labhart said, adding that the other three suspects fled toward Lewisville.

Lewisville Capt. Dan Rochelle said the three suspects entered Lewisville on foot. A 48-year-old man was arriving home at 10:40 p.m. in the 1500 block of Sunswept Terrace in Lewisville, a few blocks away from the home invasion, when one of the three men punched him in the face and took his vehicle, a blue Nissan Versa.

The suspects then fled to Carrollton where police attempted to make a traffic stop in the 2000 block of Arbor Creek at Lone Star Drive and Arbor Creek around 11 p.m. Two of the three men inside fled from the car, Carrollton police officials said. One suspect who remained inside was detained immediately. Carrollton police continued their search, finding a second suspect at 5:30 a.m. in the 2000 block of Espinosa Drive after a short pursuit just a couple of blocks from where police made the initial traffic stop.

Carrollton police recovered the vehicle from the Lewisville robbery as well as two handguns. The caliber of the handguns was not immediately available.

Because of police activity near Arbor Creek Middle and Indian Creek Elementary schools, Lewisville ISD delayed opening the campuses until 10 a.m. Monday.

The Flower Mound incident is the latest in a series of home invasions targeting Indian families, including two Saturday evening in Allen and one in Coppell. The suspects, all described as heavyset black males, were also believed to have burglarized another home in Allen.

Griffin said the Indian community in Flower Mound had, in early 2014, been a target for a rash of burglaries due to their having heirloom jewelry in their homes. Police said they believed criminals were following a calendar of religious holidays and targeting their homes to look for the high carat jewelry. “We asked them to please make sure they lock up their jewelry at home or in a safe deposit box,” said Griffin.

Griffin said the latest spate of robberies appeared to follow a similar pattern, though the main difference was that the home invasion suspects were targeting homes with people inside as opposed to the normal pattern of burglarizing homes while people were away at work and school.

In the home invasions in Allen, the suspects wore ski masks and held family members at gunpoint while they took electronics, jewelry and cash from the homes. One family of four was bound with duct tape during the home invasion, according to news reports.

Anyone with any information related to the offense is encouraged to notify the Flower Mound Police Department by either calling 972-539-0525 or the Anonymous Crime Tip Line at 972-874-3307.