Felony Lane Gang Strikes Darien, Other Connecticut Towns

Darien and other police departments throughout Connecticut have been busy over the past week after the Felony Lane Gang struck.

The group, which has more than 700 known members, is based out of Florida and is known to operate in at least 40 states, police said. They are known for “smash and grab” car burglaries. They sometimes use a specialized tool (pictured) to quickly smash windows.

They sometimes use the proceeds from burglaries to commit bank fraud using stolen checks.

Police investigated several Cherry Lawn Park car burglaries on Sept. 7. In one case a Stamford woman was alerted by a Good Samaritan in West Haven that her purse along with her mother’s were found in a dumpster on Campbell Avenue.

Police investigated a number of car burglaries in other parts of town as well. Three are known to have occurred at the YMCA the morning of Sept. 9.

An iPhone 6 along with several purses, cash and credit cards were stolen. Police reviewed surveillance footage and identified a White Ford Explorer with a partially-unknown Connecticut plate as the suspect vehicle.

Nearly every vehicle in the lot was checked by the burglars between 8 and 9 a.m.

Police looked back at surveillance footage from earlier in the morning and saw a white Ford Explorer with a Florida plate. They determined it was the same vehicle and the plates were switched.

Darien Police with help from Greenwich Police determined the Connecticut plate was stolen out of Stamford. Darien Police used the Find my iPhone app to ping the stolen phone from the YMCA parking lot and saw it in West Haven.

Police headed up to West Haven and then noticed the tracker showing the phone traveling south on I-95. They tracked it to the I-95 rest stop in Fairfield, but couldn’t pinpoint which vehicle it was in until it began moving again.

Officers saw it move within the app as a truck was leaving the rest stop, police said. They stopped it in Darien on the highway.

The operator of the vehicle said he found the phone at a West Haven hotel and tried turning it in, but no one reported it missing, police said. At the advice of his son he turned the phone on and waited for the owner to track it. The driver wasn’t charged.

It may have seemed like wasted time, but the clue from the truck gave them a clue to what would be a treasure trove of alleged stolen goods; a West Haven hotel. Darien and West Haven police set-up surveillance and eventually took three Florida men into custody.

Related:

Wanted Men Nabbed for Darien Car Burglaries

Police believe the Ford Explorer, which was rented out of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. area, was used in car burglaries in Trumbull, Stamford, Darien and Greenwich.

Another Group Strikes

That wouldn’t be the last of the Felony Lane Gang for Connecticut cops.

West Haven Police got a call about a disturbance at a CVS in their city Saturday. Three suspicious males were attempting to purchase thousands of dollars worth of Green Dot reloadable money cards, police said.

Police apprehended three individuals, including a juvenile in possession of $7,500 in cash after a car chase, police said. They are separate individuals from Darien’s arrest, but are believed to be part of the same gang.

Police went to the Best Western and Hampton Inn hotels in West Haven to continue their investigation. In three hotel rooms police found sneakers, clothing, dozens of gift cards and at least $13,000 in cash.

The investigation continues, police said. Police are exploring the possibility that car burglaries that occurred near Cherry Lawn Park are related.

Milford, Orange and Hamden had similar burglaries on Saturday.