Three Houston residents have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in armed robberies of commercial businesses, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Thaddeaues Malik Williams, 26, Tydreic Deon Sublet, 24, and Andre Palmer-Gilliams, 33, had previously entered guilty pleas on October 19, September 9, and August 12 of last year respectively.

U.S. District Judge George Hanks sentenced Williams to 199 months, Sublet to 233 months, and Gilliams to 210 months in federal prison. Each individual will also be required to complete three years of supervised release following their incarceration.

The criminal activities began on July 1, 2019, when the trio entered Rice Village Diamonds dressed as construction workers. They used firearms to steal jewelry from four glass cabinets while customers and employees were present. Authorities later identified them through a Gatorade bottle left at the scene.

On August 14 of the same year, they targeted Woodforest National Bank located inside Gallery Furniture. During this robbery, Sublet brandished a firearm at customers and disarmed a security officer while Williams jumped over the counter and forced tellers to open cash drawers.

Law enforcement responded quickly and pursued the suspects as they attempted to flee by vehicle. The chase concluded when their vehicle crashed into a ditch near a residential area. The suspects fled on foot but were eventually apprehended by authorities who recovered the stolen money along with several firearms including the security guard's gun.

The defendants will remain in custody until they are transferred to a Bureau of Prisons facility yet to be determined.

The investigation was conducted by the Houston Police Department alongside the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Jenkins Stotts led the prosecution in this case.