State authorities have accused four Allegheny County residents of breaking into dozens of vehicles last year throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania, stealing checkbooks, credit, debit and ID cards, and then draining victims’ bank accounts.
On Dec. 6, the state Attorney General’s Office charged Ahmed Henderson, Theresa Imel, Elizabeth Madden and Shaquan Moore with corrupt organizations, conspiracy, identity theft, forgery and related offenses.
The charges were not announced until this week.
Authorities said the “smash-and-grab” ring operated from April 2023 to August 2023 and left behind a trail of 68 victims in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Erie, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
Investigators from 19 different police agencies in Pennsylvania and Ohio tracked down members of the group through surveillance and by poring over rental-car paperwork, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said.
The cases involved officers from Greensburg, Erie and Cranberry as well as from Pittsburgh suburbs such as Upper St. Clair, Robinson and Moon.
“These invasive, random crimes cause financial stress and strip the victims and their communities of a sense of security,” Henry said in a prepared statement.
Police said two of the suspects, Henderson and Moore, used rental cars and stolen license plates to scout vehicles parked in public parks, recreation centers, gyms and other short-term parking locations.
After the break-ins, group members accessed victims’ bank accounts, police said. The group then shared the proceeds.
Police have charged Henderson, 32, of Pittsburgh, with corrupt organization, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, and criminal conspiracy.
Moore, 32, of Pittsburgh, was charged with corrupt organization, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, identity theft and three counts of criminal conspiracy.
Police charged both Imel, 43, of Dravosburg, and Madden, 33, of Elizabeth, with corrupt organization, criminal conspiracy and identify theft.
None of the suspects is in custody, court records show.
The attorney general’s office did not return phone calls Friday seeking comment.
The Pittsburgh-area group’s criminal enterprise mirrored the modus operandi of the Felony Lane Gang, which originated in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. area and has committed thousands of “smash and grab” thefts since forming more than a decade ago, authorities said. Several factions of the group have formed and operate across the U.S.
The “felony lane” part of the Florida group’s name references the use of the lane farthest from surveillance cameras in drive-thru banks.
