10-year-old among kids arrested in 'brutal' bike trail robberies

Officers speak about the series of bike trail robberies that occured over the past two months on the Columbia Tap trail. (Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle) Officers speak about the series of bike trail robberies that occured over the past two months on the Columbia Tap trail. (Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle) Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close 10-year-old among kids arrested in 'brutal' bike trail robberies 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Nine juveniles, including a 10-year-old, have been arrested in a series of sometimes brutal robberies along a downtown-area bike trail, Houston police said.

The nine told police they were an aspiring offshoot of a Third Ward gang, authorities said Wednesday when announcing the arrests.

The nine are also believed responsible for more than seven similar robberies near the Columbia Tap trail, police said. A map of the nearly four-mile trail can be seen here.

In some of the attacks, the juveniles, all boys, used guns. They told authorities the robberies were done for fun and money, police said.

"They thought it was a good summer activity," said Houston Police Department Captain Glenn Yorek. "Some said they needed money to eat or to buy shoes."

The juveniles, arrested on Tuesday, weren't taking direction from the older gang, said department spokesman John Cannon. HPD found no official ties with the gang, he said.

The teens are 10 to 16 and live near the trail. Many were arrested at schools in the area, where they are students. Some have previous criminal records.

The 10-year-old was charged with the robbery. The rest were charged with organized crime. All were referred to Harris County juvenile probation. Yorek said authorities consider the crimes gang-related.

The attacks began in mid-May and targeted victims, from college students to senior citizens, in the mid-morning and early evening, Yorek said. They struck 13 times on the bike trail between North MacGregor and the Gulf Freeway service road.

The captain described some of the beatings as "brutal." In one instance, the attackers broke someone's collar bone and ribs. Other times, the robbers hit their victims in the back of the head, followed with beatings by at least two attackers.

The attackers would jump out at bicyclists and joggers on the trail, knocking over their victims and rob them. Sometimes the robbers took the bikes, knowing which ones were higher-end models, police said.