A judge has sentenced a suspect in a Midlothian “jugging” robbery to 10 years in prison.
U.S. Chief District Judge David Godbey sentenced 33-year-old Johnny Juwan Clark to 8 years in prison for the recent robbery, and another 2 years for a prior robbery, according to a July 29 press release from the Department of Justice. Clark had pleaded guilty in April.
Clark was part of a Houston-area gang called the “Hiram Clarke Money Team,” known for “jugging” – following victims after they service or withdraw from ATMs to rob them.
When Clark pled guilty, he admitted he traveled from Houston to the DFW area in a rental car on July 3, 2024, with “intent to commit robbery.” After arriving, he followed a technician as he repaired ATMs in Irving, Grand Prairie, Arlington, and finally Midlothian.
Wearing a hoodie and face covering as a disguise, Clark approached the technician at 5:35 p.m. that day, while he was servicing a Chase Bank in Midlothian. At the time, Clark was on “supervised release” after a previous term in federal prison for robbery.
“Clark approached the technician from behind and forced him to the ground,” the release reads. “Clark kept his fist to the back of the victim’s head.”
Meanwhile, codefendants Corey Dashun Holloway and Roosevelt Ford Valentine, also from Houston, allegedly removed canisters of currency from the ATM. They made off with nearly $284,000 during this robbery.
Afterward, Clark and the others fled in the rental car and reportedly met another codefendant, Tierra Tonisha Brandyberg, at an apartment nearby, according to the release.
They allegedly loaded the money into a Range Rover and drove it back to Houston. There, officials said, Clark and Brandyberg used the stolen money to buy jewelry and a luxury Mercedes sedan.
In court, Clark admitted he was the suspect who forced the technician to the ground in a photograph. Another photo shows the stolen money in the front seat of a car.
Members of this Houston gang, the Hiram Clarke Money Team, are “known to routinely travel to areas outside of Houston and engage in ‘jugging’ style robberies and other forms of theft,” according to the release. An Instagram page for “Hiram Clarke money team” features videos of men posing with large sums of cash.
The suspects were indicted in December with “conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by robbery,” according to the release.
Brandyberg pled guilty on July 8 and is waiting for sentencing. Holloway has indicated he will likely plead guilty, and his next arraignment is in August. Valentine’s jury trial is set for September. FBI-Dallas investigated the case.
“Jugging”-style robberies are now a felony in Texas. The Dallas Police Department investigated an attempted jugging ambush, caught on camera, in 2023, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. Last year, Dallas-area police warned the public that these crimes could be more prevalent during tax season. Soon after, a jugging robbery took place southwest of downtown.