In May to July 1999 four teenage girls from the Kingwood region of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

engaged in a robbery spree, robbing four grocery stores and a bakery.Jerome, Richard.
The Lost Girls
(). ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

''. September 13, 1999 Vol. 52 No. 10. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. These stores were in Harris and Montgomery counties. The girls called themselves the "Queens of Armed Robbery",Last of girl gang gets probation
().

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

at the '' Amarillo Globe-News''. Saturday April 29, 2000. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. and bought recreational drugs and body piercings with their money.Wood, Stefanie.
Robbery Queens: Where are they now?
(). Houston Community Newspapers. Thursday October 12, 2000. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. Jacqueline Helfgott, author of ''Criminal Behavior: Theories, Typologies and Criminal Justice'', wrote that the fact the perpetrators were girls from upper-middle-class backgrounds meant the crime made news in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

and throughout the United States. Helfgott stated that despite the girls' use of recreational drugs, their accounts and the accounts of other people cited boredom as the primary reason for the crime.Helfgott, Jacqueline. ''Criminal Behavior: Theories, Typologies and Criminal Justice''.

SAGE Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

, March 13, 2008. , 9781412904872. p
184
The film ''

Sugar & Spice ''Sugar & Spice'' is a 2001 American teen black comedy film directed by Francine McDougall and starring Marley Shelton, Marla Sokoloff and Mena Suvari. The plot follows a group of high school cheerleaders who conspire and commit armed robbery wh ...

'' is loosely based on the incident.

Perpetrators

The perpetrators, all students or alumna of

Kingwood High School Kingwood High School is a Humble Independent School District secondary school located in the Kingwood community of Houston, Texas, United States and serves Portions of Kingwood and Atascocita. Ted Landry had been principal since May 29, 2011 unti ...

, were:Hull, C. Bryson.
`Robbery queens' get 7-year terms
().

at the '' Amarillo Globe-News''. Saturday January 29, 2000. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. Also available as:
'Queens of Armed Robbery' receive 7-year jail terms
" ''

Spartanburg Herald-Journal The ''Spartanburg Herald-Journal'' is a daily newspaper, the primary newspaper for Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. History The origins of the paper lie with ''The Spartan'', a weekly paper reportedly first printed in about 1842� ...

''. Saturday January 29, 2000. p. A3. Also available as:
Jury gives ‘Queens’ each 7-year terms
(). '' Laredo Morning Times''. Saturday January 29, 2000. p. 5A. * Krystal Dawn Maddox, 16 * Malissa Chalerm "Lisa" Warzeka, 17 ** Warzeka, born to an American father and a Thai mother, participated in the school athletic teams.Dewan, Shaila.
Nice Girls With Guns
" '' Houston Press''. Thursday December 16, 1999. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. * Katie Marie Dunn, 17 * Michelle Renee Morneau, 18 ** Morneau, the oldest member of the crime group, had already graduated from Kingwood High prior to the crimesHenderson, Gracie.
Parole denied for two of the Kingwood "Queens of Armed Robbery
(). Houston Community Newspapers & Media Group. Thursday July 17, 2003. Retrieved on February 15, 2016.

Crimes

The girls planned the crimes while eating at a Kingwood

Wendy’s Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the ...

. The group targeted five places: Stop N Drive, Ryan's Bakery, Jack's Food Store/Jack's Grocery,

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a ...

Food Store, and a store in Montgomery County. All of these places were on the periphery of Kingwood: either north along Porter Road or south on Hamblen Road.Schone, Mark. "The Last Party." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

''.

SPIN Media LLC MRC II Distribution Company L.P., doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), is an American film and television studio. Founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the company funds and produces film and television programming. ...

, January 2000. Volume 16, No. 1. ISSN 0886-3032. START: p
110
CITED: p
111
Stop N Drive, the first location, was robbed on May 30 of that year. It was located in Montgomery County, on

Texas State Highway Loop 494 Loop 494 is a state highway loop in the Greater Houston area of Texas. It is in length and is a former routing of US 59 in the area. Route description Loop 494 begins at I-69/ US 59 just south of the Harris–Montgomery county line. ...

, outside of the western portion of Kingwood. Forest Cove Stop-n-Drive was robbed on July 1, and there the girls got $800 ($ according to inflation), the largest amount in the robberies. Others resulted in cash and cigarettes. Ryan's Bakery was held up on July 5, and the adjacent Jack's Food Store was held up the subsequent weekend. The girls used a 1999

Pontiac Firebird The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...

owned by Maddox's father as the getaway car. In each robbery two girls actively robbed while the others served as lookouts. Maddox was the only girl who participated in all of the robberies.Schone, Mark. "The Last Party." ''

''.

, January 2000. Volume 16, No. 1. ISSN 0886-3032. START: p
110
CITED: p
117
They had watched television to get the

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...

of the crime, and they had disguised themselves as males by using sunglasses, masks, hoods, and gloves. Their weapons were a .22 caliber rifle, a semiautomatic pistol, and a shotgun. Shaila Dewan of the '' Houston Press'' wrote that, according to Billy Stephens of the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

(HPD), the fact that "the robberies were so well planned and executed" was what "struck" him the most, and not merely that the perpetrators were upper middle class females. Dunn and Morneau discussed the robberies with other people, attracting the attention of authorities.

Arrest and prosecution

The HPD had the perpetrators in custody by August 6 of that year. Prior to the arrest the police sent undercover officers to eavesdrop on the girls when they were in public. The police stated that of the perpetrators, Dunn was the most cooperative. An assistant principal of Kingwood High identified perpetrators after listening to audiotapes of the robberies that occurred in Montgomery County. Convictions for armed robbery could have resulted in any sentence from probation to 99 years of prison.Teen-agers On Trial
().

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

/ 48 Hours. April 13. 2000. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. Maddox, who police said was the ringleader, was

tried as an adult Trial as an adult is a situation in which a juvenile offender is tried as if they were an adult, whereby they may receive a longer or more serious sentence than would otherwise be possible if they were charged as a juvenile. While there are spec ...

and was the only girl who opted to have her case to go on trial. Maddox's case went on trial in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, with a

change of venue A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to widespread publici ...

, in March 2000. The three other girls testified against her. She was convicted on April 10 of that year, and on April 14 she received a prison sentence of 7 1/2 years. Maddox received a longer sentence since she was the ringleader. Dunn and Warzeka pleaded guilty to armed robbery and chose to have juries determine their sentences. The girls each received two concurrent prison sentences of 7 years, with parole eligibility in 3 years. Morneau, who agreed to testify against her accomplices, received deferred adjudication from Mark Kent Ellis, a Texas state district judge. He required her to attend boot camp and serve parole. She attended her boot camp at the Harris County Boot Camp in

Atascocita Atascocita is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Houston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 88,174. It is located north and south of Farm to Market Road 1960 about e ...

, and she had to serve 10 years of probation and perform 2,000 hours of community service. Morneau had stayed in the car during the robberies, so she got a lighter sentence.

Incarceration and parole hearings

Maddox chose to stay in the Dallas County Jail as her appeal was launched; if a prisoner is sentenced to fewer than ten years in prison in Texas, he or she may stay in a county jail while his or her appeal occurs. As of 2000 Dunn was located in the Harris County Jail and Warzeka was in the Lucile Plane State Jail. Maddox and Warzeka were later moved to the Gatesville Unit (now the

Christina Crain Unit The Christina Melton Crain Unit (formerly the Gatesville Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for females in Gatesville, Texas. The prison is along Texas State Highway 36, north of central Gatesville. The unit, with about of sp ...

).Leung, Rebecca.
Queens Of Armed Robbery
().

. March 30, 2004. Retrieved on February 15, 2016. Two of the girls had their first parole eligibility in 2003. Warzeka and Dunn were denied parole in 2003, and their only other eligible parole date was 2005. Their full sentence was to expire on August 4, 2006. Dunn received her General Education Development (GED) diploma while in prison and began tertiary educational coursework there. While in prison Warzeka had received her GED, and then her associate's degree. The

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

had accepted her so she could do her studies for a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Aftermath and legacy

After the incident occurred, Cynthia Calvert, the editor of the '' Kingwood Observer'' and a parent of a student at Kingwood High; and an official at the Humble Independent School District; as well as other people in the Kingwood community described the criminal incidents as, in the words of Dewan, "an anomaly". According to Helfgott, the news coverage of the crime exposed the prevalence of drug use in Kingwood and the notion that if the teenagers encountered any legal trouble, their parents would make the problems disappear. Some newspapers referred to the crime as "

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

comes to Pleasantville". In an opinion letter to the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'', member of

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

Jolanda "Jo" Jones argued that the relatively lenient sentencing is an example of favorable treatment based on class in the Harris County legal system. The film ''

'' was loosely based on the incidents.

Marla Sokoloff Marla Lynne Sokoloff (born December 19, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for playing Lucy Hatcher on the legal drama television series ''The Practice'', and Gia Mahan on ''Full House'' and '' Fuller House''. She has also appeared in fi ...

, one of the actresses, stated that "It's not the same, of course, yet I'm not sure if Sugar & Spice would have been made if that hadn't happened."Westbrook, Bruce.
Film: 'Sugar & Spice,'where everything's nice
(). ''

''. Sunday, January 21, 2001. Retrieved on February 15, 2016.

Perpetrators

Crimes

Arrest and prosecution

Incarceration and parole hearings

Aftermath and legacy

References

Further reading