HOUSTON (AP) - A Texas prison gang's violent exploits over the last eight years -- including murders -- were detailed over a two-day court hearing that ended today with a federal judge ordering four of the members to be held without bond.

Thirty-four-year-old Francisco Nuncio Junior of Houston; 35-year-old Robbie Lee Danas of Rosenberg; 39-year-old George Duran of Baytown; and 35-year-old Johnny Perez Junior of Houston were part of a group of 17 members of the Texas Syndicate who were the targets of a five-year F-B-I investigation.

The federal probe resulted in an eleven-count indictment charging the men with a variety of crimes in the Houston area, including murder, racketeering, aggravated robbery and drug trafficking.

Six of the gang members, including Nuncio and Perez, face a possible death sentence for their part in several murders.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-02-23-07 1847EST