Houston Group Behind $300,000 Target Theft Spree Arrested

A man and two women from the Houston area have been arrested after authorities say they orchestrated a large-scale theft operation targeting Target stores across multiple states. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the trio is accused of stealing roughly $300,000 worth of merchandise between February 2024 and September 2025. Court documents reveal the suspects traveled across state lines, hitting stores in Texas, Kansas, Georgia, and Alabama.

Investigators have identified the alleged ringleader as Bernard Lane, a Houston man with an extensive criminal history. Lane has been charged more than 70 times in Harris County for offenses including assault, DWI, and evading arrest. By 2024, records show he had already been convicted three dozen times. That same year, Lane was arrested for allegedly choking and threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend but was allowed to bond out of jail for just $1, according to court filings.

The ex-girlfriend named in those documents, Shalondra Gilbert, is one of the two women now charged alongside Lane in connection with the Target theft ring. Authorities say Gilbert and Lane coordinated several of the alleged thefts. The third suspect, Alicia Morris, also faces charges, though her exact connection to Lane is unclear. Court documents show that Lane and Morris shared the same Spring, Texas, address at the time of their arrests.

The group’s activities extended well beyond the Houston area. Charging documents from Overland Park, Kansas, show that Lane was arrested there in July 2025 for allegedly stealing from a Target store. After bonding out, prosecutors in Kansas say Lane and Morris continued their spree, stealing from three additional Target locations in Georgia and Alabama on consecutive days in August, taking about $2,000 in merchandise.

Authorities say the pair returned to Texas in September, where they allegedly stole from four more Target stores in Harris County. The Texas DPS, working with multiple state and local agencies, continues to investigate the full scope of the theft ring and whether additional suspects were involved.