Woman Pleads Guilty For Stealing $94k In Handbags From LI Shop: DA

EAST HAMPTON, NY — A New Jersey woman pleaded guilty Tuesday for her part in stealing almost $94,000 in handbags from the luxury retail store Balenciaga in East Hampton in March, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Baseemah Davis, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny, Tierney said. Davis also pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of stolen property and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, Tierney said.

Davis was arrested on March 3 after she and Jamal Johns, 26, Ali Harris, 28, and Wazir Rodgers, 25 — all of Newark, NJ — and a yet-to-be-identified woman were captured on surveillance video stealing nearly $94,000 worth of handbags from the shop, Tierney said.

The video shows that at 1:30 p.m., a woman, who remains at-large, entered Balenciaga wearing a pink ski-type mask over her face and sunglasses, Tierney said. The woman appeared to be on her cell phone as she walked around the store and looked at various handbags; after a short time, she asked a store employee to check if they had a shoe in a particular size, Tierney said.

According to court documents, when the employee attempted to retrieve the shoes for her, the three men and Davis, all masked, rushed into the store and hurriedly began taking luxury handbags from the shelves, Tierney said. After taking several bags each, all five individuals ran out of the store; they then got into a Dodge Durango and fled, Tierney said.

Responding officers from the East Hampton Village Police Department located the Durango and began a pursuit that had to be terminated; shortly afterward, a New York State Trooper observed the Durango and also initiated a pursuit, Tierney said.

The trooper pursued the Durango as the driver got off of Sunrise Highway at Exit 62 and headed north on Route 111, Tierney said. That pursuit also had to be terminated due to safety concerns
as the Durango was traveling at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour and was observed veering into oncoming traffic lanes, Tierney said.

The trooper saw the Durango heading west on the Long Island Expressway with smoke coming out of the rear of the vehicle, Tierney said. He followed the vehicle from a safe distance and observed the driver exit the LIE at Exit 69, Tierney said. The trooper then saw the individuals exit the Durango; three of them ran toward a wooded area just north of their location while two remained at the vehicle, Tierney said.

One, later identified as Rodgers, was pursued by the trooper on foot and arrested, Tierney said. An ensuing search of the area led to the arrests of Davis, Harris and Johns, as well as the
recovery of 34 of the stolen handbags, Tierney said.

An investigation to locate the unidentified female remains ongoing, Tierney said.

Johns, Harris and Rodgers were all charged with second-degree grand larceny; second-degree criminal possession of stolen property; and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled
substance, Tierney said, adding that the three remain in custody.

“We will not relent in holding those who steal the property of others accountable. Not only did this defendant and her alleged accomplices go into a retail store and brazenly take items off the shelves, they put the safety of others at risk in their attempts to flee from law enforcement. This could have ended tragically,” said Tierney.

Davis is due back for sentencing on Sept. 23 in front of the Honorable Anthony Senft; Johns also
has a court date on September 23, Tierney said. Rogers and Harris are due back in court on Friday, August 19, Tierney said.