HOUSTON \u2013 People in Houston\u2019s South Acres neighborhood say what should be quick trips to corner stores have become hotspots for crime. <\/p>\n
From drug sales and weapons to other criminal activity, the stores that once served the community\u2019s convenience now worry homeowners.<\/p>\n
Lt. Ashton Johnson-Hall of Precinct 7 Constable\u2019s Office is leading a targeted initiative, Operation Blue Star, aimed at restoring safety and accountability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese convenience stores\u2019 purpose have been lost,\u201d Johnson-Hall said. \u201cThis purpose of the convenience store is to run there, get the little things you might need, and go back home. But the crime is so bad that people are scared to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since launching the operation roughly five months ago, deputies have contacted 85 individuals, issuing warnings or citations, and made 31 arrests for narcotics and weapons. While on patrol, Johnson-Hall confronted a man drinking in a store parking lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cAwareness, I believe, like he told me, \u2018Hey man, they let me do this,\u2019\u201d Johnson-Hall said. \u201cThat was a positive interaction. Even though he was committing a crime, it was a positive outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Super Neighborhood President Lloyd Ford says arrests alone aren\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes beyond just taking people to jail and making arrests,\u201d Ford said. \u201cWhat we now have to do is put stuff on the books to hold the businesses accountable for allowing this type of behavior on their property. These people do not stay in the community, so they have no investment outside of the money to fix this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford appreciates the constable\u2019s office but says real change requires holding store owners accountable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is just the gravy,\u201d he said. \u201cThe main reason is the property owners. Once we handle that, they can\u2019t stand there anymore. This is a topic every month, every day. We\u2019ve even reported them to TABC and checked how many machines they can have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson-Hall says Operation Blue Star relies on community tips, undercover investigations, and ongoing monitoring. Common complaints include drinking alcohol and selling drugs on the property. Deputies have made narcotics and weapons arrests, cleared warrants, and engaged with store owners to address illegal activity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we often see is that they turn the corner stores into a hangout,\u201d Johnson-Hall said. \u201cInstead of going to a traditional lounge, they pull out folding chairs or milk crates, and they\u2019re just there.\u201d<\/p>\n
He emphasizes accountability for both individuals and property owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has to have some level of accountability,\u201d Johnson-Hall said. \u201cA lot of these owners don\u2019t stay in our communities. They might send someone to maintain the property, but as far as suppressing a criminal element, it doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southeast Houston currently has the highest crime rate in the city, Johnson-Hall said, and Operation Blue Star is focused on precinct areas including Central, South Central, Southeast, and Southwest Houston. He hopes the program can grow into a model for other agencies and neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, we\u2019ve seen improvement,\u201d he said, pointing to stores that now display \u201cNo Loitering\u201d and \u201cNo Trespassing\u201d signs. \u201cWe try to go out weekly and secure locations, combat whatever crime is being reported, and make the neighborhoods safer.\u201d<\/p>\n
For South Acres residents like Ford, the effort is welcome but the message is clear: long-term change will require store owners to take responsibility as well.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 People in Houston\u2019s South Acres neighborhood say what should be quick trips to corner stores have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,82583,82582,82584,82585,82581],"class_list":["post-210816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-narcotics-arrests","tag-precinct-7-constable","tag-precinct-7-constables-office","tag-south-acres","tag-southeast-houston-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}