Police nab ring of suspected bar thieves

Nine people, including a mother and two of her sons, have been arrested in connection with 22 robberies of bar customers in the Heights and Second Ward, KPRC reports today. The group staged a number of holdups in bars between June and October: They would enter a bar with guns or knives, tell everyone to hit the floor and then steal patrons' wallets, cash and jewelry, money from the cash register and, in some cases, beer and cigarettes from the bar's stock. "They did this in conjunction with being desperate — they needed money," HPD Officer Richard Rodriguez told Channel 11. "We're very fortunate that we had no one that was hurt during these robberies."

The woman arrested, 37-year-old Marsela Vargas, is accused of pawning jewelry that her sons 20-year-old Cesar and 18-year-old Predro, stole. "Basically, she realized that her kids were in trouble and they realized once we told her that we had her pawning jewelry, that she pretty much gave us the statement," Rodriguez said. Marsela Vargas was charged with theft, while the sons were each charged with two counts of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. The other six suspects — the youngest of whom is 13 — also face charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

Police say the group stole more than $25,000. They had managed to elude police for months, but finally got caught when one of the suspects used a stolen cell phone.