COVINGTON, La. (WGNO) – It sounds pretty intimidating, the “Felony Lane Gang.” So far, St. Tammany Parish deputies said they’re working at least 10 cases this year with an estimated $100,000 in losses.
But deputies said it’s not the name of a real gang. Instead, the term was coined by law enforcement to describe a certain kind of criminal activity.
Detective Stefan Montgomery with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said the term was originally used to describe criminals who would target the drive-through lane at the bank that was the farthest from the tellers to help hide their identity. Since then, the term has been adapted to describe crime scenes that are in high traffic areas but farthest from possible witnesses.
“They seek out vehicles that are in gyms, recreational districts, parks where predominantly women will leave their purses on the seat,” Montgomery said.
The criminals generally smash the cars’ windows and take whatever valuables they can find.
But here’s the even bigger problem. The thieves take the victim’s identification cards, checks, and bank cards to other cities or even states and begin draining the accounts. In some cases, the criminals even wore disguises to try to look like the photos of the victims on the stolen ID cards.
For more, check out the STPSO video below from Facebook.
