Houston Men Sentenced for Beaumont Taqueria Robbery

BEAUMONT – Two Houston men have been sentenced to prison for federal firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

Robert Lewis Johnson, Jr., 31, pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence on May 17, 2022 and was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone. Bryant Demetri West, 24, pleaded guilty to the same offense on May 9, 2022, and was sentenced earlier this week to 120 months in federal prison by Judge Crone.

According to court documents, the morning of December 15, 2018, Johnson and West drove a stolen truck to Tacos La Bamba in Beaumont and entered the restaurant brandishing handguns. The two masked men then forced store employees to the floor and took $13,862.97 in cash belonging to the restaurant before returning to Houston. During the robbery, West discharged his firearm in the vicinity of two restaurant employees.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was investigated by the Beaumont Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.

Davilyn Walston

Public Affairs Officer/Law Enforcement Coordinator

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Eastern District of Texas