20 alleged 'Free Money' Houston gang members face RICO, drug trafficking charges

HOUSTON - Twenty alleged members of a Houston-based street gang "Free Money" have been indicted on multiple federal crimes, including RICO conspiracy, murder, and more.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced the 18-count indictment was unsealed on Thursday for the twenty dependents. Ten of them were arrested on Thursday while the other 10 were already in custody for related federal charges.

Alleged "Free Money" gang members indicted

The backstory:

According to officials, the members and associates of the gang participated in acts of violence, intimidation, drive-by shootings, and murder. Two of the Houston members, Terry Ardoin, 24, and Travonte Ardoin, 28, are accused of a murder linked to a gang war with another group.

In one incident on June 24, 2022, both Terry and Travonte allegedly followed a Chevrolet Equinox with two people inside into a shopping center parking lot. While the driver got out to go inside a nearby store, the passenger stayed inside the vehicle.

The indictment claims Terry and Travaonte got out of their vehicle wearing masks and began shooting at the Chevrolet. Multiple shots hit the passenger's side and when law enforcement responded, they found the victim dead at the scene.

On Aug. 3, 2022, Shakeil Anderson, 23, and other alleged Free Money members are accused of shooting multiple rounds into the home of a perceived rival gang member's grandmother.

The "Free Money" gang financed weapons purchased and provided money to incarcerated members through robberies and drug sales, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. On June 3, 2024, 21-year-old Walter Tolbert and other alleged gang members are accused of robbing a pawn shop at gunpoint, stealing jewelry, Sony PlayStations, and cash.

According to the indictment, on Aug. 14, 2022, several alleged members tried to rob a rival gang member's stats house and kill whoever was inside. These members included Joci Barley, 26, Terrel Davis, 28, Tolbert, Anderson, Jakobe Anderson, 24, Chase Franklin-Williams, 21, Terry Adroin, Travonte Ardoin, Deandre Thompson, 22, Emery Goodley, 26, Jymonte McClendon, 28, and Maurkael Brown, 31.

The group planned the robbery during a gang meeting and stated they would "kill and do everything they needed to do" so they could get the drugs and money they thought was inside, records state,

However, law enforcement stopped the men while they were on the way to the location and during the chase, Travonte Ardoin allegedly threw a firearm out the window, court records say.

The group is also accused in the indictment of trafficking crack cocaine, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. An alleged member, 52-year-old Orlando Calloway, supplied crack cocaine to the gang by converting powder cocaine for redistribution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

What they're saying:

"The indictment unsealed today alleges that the Free Money gang engaged in a campaign of robbery, drug trafficking, and armed violence to intimidate their rivals and terrorize the people of Houston. That ends now," said United States Attorney Nicholas Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas. "Houstonians should be able to live their lives without fear of either themselves or their loved ones being robbed, maimed, or caught in the crossfire of gang warfare. SDTX’s message on this point is clear and unmistakable: if you’re thinking of engaging in violent, criminal conduct on a Houston street, think again.  The Southern District has your number."

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"This gang terrorized the streets of Houston with their drive-by shootings in public places like grocery store parking lots and with their brazen, armed robberies," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. "These brazen tactics show the wide-ranging danger posed by violent gangs. The Criminal Division will continue to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of violent gang members so that innocent Americans get what they deserve – their communities restored and their lives unencumbered by the fear and carnage that these gangs perpetuate."

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"The sheer number of murders and shootings these individuals are suspected of freely carrying out for years, and the level of indiscriminate violence they’re accused of executing is alarming," said Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Houston Field Office Jason Hudson. "Today’s coordinated arrests across Houston are the result of years-long investigations by our FBI Houston team and our partners. We hope the residents of the Houston neighborhoods they terrorized can rest a little easier knowing that these individuals are ‘free’ no more."

What's next:

The dependents named in the indictment face maximum sentences of life in prison for the RICO charge. They face ten years to life in prison on the drug trafficking and firearms charges. 

Terry Ardoin and Travante Ardoin each face either mandatory life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of the charge of murder in aid of racketeering.