The case, closed after a lengthy investigation, revealed a troubling collaboration between local entrepreneurs and a notorious prison-originated gang.
On April 28, 2020, police responded to a home invasion where three masked men broke into a residence through a backyard window, holding a woman and her now-late husband at gunpoint. The intruders stole thousands of dollars in jewelry and $13,000 in cash, leaving the victims shaken.
“I’m offended because it was someone I thought was my friend, was not my friend,” the woman, who requested anonymity, told Fox 4 KDFW.
She noted the robbers knew about her valuables, including a 50-peso coin necklace, likely due to her visits to Gold Rush Jewelry Buyers, now A1 Gold Run, owned by brothers Alex Hamdan and Omar Hamdan.
The investigation, spanning over a year with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and police departments in Irving, Frisco, Richardson, and Dallas, uncovered a conspiracy. Michael Neria, a Tango Blast member, confessed after detectives linked him to the crime via a lottery ticket left near the getaway vehicle. Neria implicated the Hamdan brothers, stating that they had provided information on targets at least five times.
Neria received a 20-year sentence, while Christopher Jimenez, another gang member, was sentenced to seven years after pleading guilty. A third member, David Garcia, faces federal charges.
Charges against the Hamdan brothers were dropped as part of a plea deal in a related case in Irving, allowing both men to avoid prison time for their alleged role in the Addison home invasion.
The victim expressed ongoing fear, with Detective Caravella warning her to steer clear of the Hamdans, calling them “very dangerous people,” Fox 4 reported. Alex Hamdan denied the accusations when approached on Monday, referring questions to his attorney.
Tango Blast, formed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by prisoners within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system for protection against rival prison gangs, has evolved into a decentralized network that influences communities statewide. Authorities suspect the group’s involvement in a string of burglaries across the Dallas-Fort Worth area from July 2019 to January 2021, though specifics remain undisclosed.
The case’s resolution raises questions about the Hamdans’ casino trips to Oklahoma with a gang member in the months following the invasion, a detail police are still probing.