Felony Lane Gang Suspected in Purse Thefts: Watch

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Oakland County authorities believe the FBI-identified Felony Lane Gang — which got its name because members allegedly use outside bank drive-through lanes that are farthest away from customer service windows to cash stolen checks — is responsible for a string of purse thefts from locked vehicles.

The opportunistic thieves apparently watch for people to get out of their cars for brief errands, then quickly move in, according to a report from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

That’s what happened about 7:14 a.m. Friday when a woman reported that she left her vehicle for about 10 minutes while she dropped her child off at the Learning Experience Daycare Center in Independence Township. When she returned, someone had broken out her passenger side window and taken her purse from the car.

The victim’s purse, as well as others taken in other larcenies in the Metro Detroit area, were discovered at Kensington Metropark in Milford.

In surveillance video of the child-care center parking lot, a car backs into a parking spot next to the vehicle, the suspect jumps out of the passenger side and uses what police said appears to be using a device known as a spring-loaded punch to shatter windows on the vehicles. The crime took a matter of seconds.

The suspect, who is described as a black male in his mid-to-late 20s to early 30s, was a passenger in a silver 2015 or 2016 Hyundai Elantra driven by a woman, according to surveillance video.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 1-888-TURN-1-IN.

Authorities remind local residents to avoid leaving valuables in plain sight inside your car, even if it’s locked.