Gang Steals Cars, Merch In East Coast Interstate Theft Scheme: Feds

NEW YORK — A multi-agency investigation, including the Wappingers Falls Police Department, resulted in six New York men being accused of stealing cars and then using those cars to steal more than a half million dollars worth of merchandise.

Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced Thursday a five-count indictment charging six men with interstate transportation of stolen property, interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicle and conspiracy counts.

The charges are in connection with a 20-month scheme to steal rental cars from Hertz Global Holdings and other car companies and merchandise from Lowe’s Companies Inc. and The Home Depot Inc.

Peace said Christopher World, aka “Birdo,” 22, of Brooklyn; Lovell Ambrister, aka “Stali,” 22, of Bronx, and Hassen Lewis, aka “Fanboy,” 22, of Brooklyn, were arrested Thursday, during which a gun with an extended magazine was found. They were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

Trent Dance, aka “Tre Savv,” 21, and Von Vincent, 22, both of Brooklyn, were detained on other charges in Valhalla and Auburn, Cayuga County, respectively. They will be arrested and arraigned at a later date.

William Harvin, “Pook,” 24, of Brooklyn, is still at large, the Wappingers Falls Police Department said, and is wanted on a violent felony warrant.

Peace said the instruction manual for these defendants was simple: commit crimes at every stage and repeat.

“They stole over $300,000 in cars to drive to stores, which they robbed of over $500,000 in merchandise — and replayed this scheme at least 130 times across the East Coast,” he said. “Let this serve as a warning: retail theft has real consequences.”

The agencies that assisted with the investigation were the Village of Wappingers Falls Police Department, the New York State Police, the Connecticut Department of Public Safety, the New York City Police Department, the Freeport Police Department, the South Burlington (Vermont)Police Department and the Vestal Police Department.

According to prosecutors, from April 2022 to December 2023, the six men stole rental cars from Hertz and others along the East Coast, drove those cars from New York to various Lowe’s and Home Depot stores and stole home improvement merchandise, often Lutron lighting products, for resale in New York.

The men stole at least $516,000 in merchandise from 71 Lowe’s stores and 59 Home Depot stores in 13 states, spanning from South Carolina to Maine, police said.

Each of the men personally participated in dozens of the thefts, and many of them face arrest warrants for their thefts in multiple states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina, prosecutors said. They also stole at least $320,000 in rental cars in four states, including New York.

If convicted, the men face a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment for each of the interstate transportation counts and a maximum of five years’ imprisonment for the conspiracy count.