Suspected furniture store robbers face judge in Houston
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- As Lontay Young and Ross White-Leonard stood before a judge on Saturday morning, the DA laid out evidence found at an officer-involved shooting at Affordable Furniture.
Investigators say Young, White-Leonard and three other suspects went in to rob the store on Thursday. Police say when the suspects came outside, at least two had guns and then pointed those guns at officers.
Officers shot at the suspects, killing two of them. Another suspect, Barry Jones, suffered non-life threatening injuries. He will be charged in the robbery once he's released from the hospital. The final two suspects, Young and White-Leonard were arrested at the scene.
Young and White-Leonard face robbery charges with a weapon. Investigators say Young had a black mask and black jacket and was staked out inside of a furniture truck that employees were unloading on Thursday night. They say he robbed an employee. They also say they found $3,400 in cash on Young at the time of the robbery.
Lontay Young, a documented gang member, has a long criminal history. He's been in and out of jail for a decade. In fact, while in court on Saturday, he was charged with two other robberies. One at a pawn shop, the other at an auto parts store. The robberies happened within the past five weeks.
Meanwhile, Young has been wearing an ankle monitor as part of his bond for yet another robbery case. Investigators were able to link Young to the more recent robberies through the GPS on his ankle monitor.
Young is not eligible for bond. White-Leonard has a $30,000 bond.
