SOUTH MONTGOMERY COUNTY -An alleged step-brother and sister robbery team was arrested overnight and Oak Ridge North Police crediting alert citizens for their quick capture. The crime was a comedy of errors that left the siblings with no loot and a lot of explaining to do.
ORNPD Detective Ken Hubbard said their investigation indicates 19-year-old Erika Nicole Foster drover her step-brother, 18-year-old Teddy Layne Osburn to Oak Ridge Liquor Store in the 26800 block of Interstate 24 North, where he allegedly entered wearing a hoodie around 8:30 p.m., with a bandana over his face and holding a realistic Air Soft BB pistol that looked like a high caliber handgun.
“When (the suspect) walked in, the clerk was in the back of the store,” Hubbard said. “The clerk saw the guy with a bandana over his face, holding a gun, and the clerk bolted out the back door, which set off the store’s alarm.”
“That scared (the suspect) and he ran back to the car.”
The clerk was running along the backside of the shopping center to a gas station on the north side of the parking lot, while the suspect was running along the front side of the center to the waiting car, Hubbard said. The clerk was slightly ahead of the suspect and passed the car, then looked back to see the suspect getting into it.
Unfortunately for the suspects, two shoppers in the Food Basket parking lot also noticed a man with his face disguised carrying a gun.
“They went toward the car and got the license plate number,” Hubbard said. “They were the key to catching these people.”
A description of the car and the plate number were dispatched to law enforcement countywide.
The white Honda sedan then went to Woodlands Parkway to head south on Interstate 45, however, the suspects encountered more misfortune.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Barber happened to be working a joint operation with Officer Steven Poole from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission near that intersection and spotted the vehicle. The arrests were made by ORNPD officers Daniel Mcgrew, Craig Boutwell and Charles Nation.
The hoodie, bandana and Air Soft pistol were inside the car, Hubbard said.
Foster and Osburn were charged with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Bond was set for each at $50,000. As of 1:30 p.m., Foster’s bond was posted, and her step-brother’s was being processed.
Their current address is listed as an apartment on Cypress Station in North Harris County. However, Public Data shows Foster renewed her driver’s license in August with a Conroe address and Osburn renewed his license in April with a Houston address different from the one they now share. Public Data shows neither has a criminal record as an adult.
Hubbard said he couldn’t thank the pair of Oak Ridge North citizens enough for taking down the license plate number, which allowed officers to quickly locate the suspects.