Nassau County Sheriff’s Office
NEWS RELEASE
Bill Leeper, Sheriff
(904) 225-0331
December 22, 2014 11:46 a.m.
Deputies from the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office arrested two members of the so called “Felony Lane Gang” Thursday morning after a brief chase from a strip mall at Blackrock Road and SR-200 into Georgia. The individuals were spotted breaking out a car window in an attempt to steal a purse at the Eagle Crossing Shopping Center parking lot. After being spotted by a witness, the individuals fled in a White Kia rental car north on Blackrock Road. The vehicle was spotted by an NCSO Deputy as it traveled south on Chester Road. The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver fled west on Pages Dairy Road to US-17. The vehicle then turned north on US-17. While approaching the I-95 northbound entrance ramp, the driver lost control of the vehicle and struck landscape type shrubbery, which caused front-end damage. The vehicle continued north on I-95 into Georgia where they were eventually stopped by Camden Sheriff’s Office and Kingsland Police Department at mile marker number 9.
Arrested were Mathis Lewis, 08-19-1978, from Ft. Lauderdale and Bernard Robinson, 10-09-1979, from Ft. Lauderdale for attempted Burglary and Aggravated Fleeing & Eluding.
“The ‘felony lane gang’ is a group of several men and women who allegedly break into vehicles, stealing checks, identification, credit cards, and debit cards, and then taking money from the victims’ accounts using the far drive-through lane of various area banks” said Sheriff Bill Leeper. “The suspects use the far lane, or ‘felony lane,’ as coined by the bank industry, so that bank employees would not see they are wearing wigs and costumes.”
Typically, the packs of thieves will move quickly through various parts of the country in rental cars, casing parking lots at gyms, day-care centers, mall parking lots, sports stadiums, parks and tourist attractions.
They break into higher-value vehicles, collecting wallets, purses and driver’s licenses, and drive to gas stations in a neighboring town to try the stolen credit cards and make sure they are valid. They avoid going into the stations or convenience stores to steer clear of surveillance cameras.
Once the men have broken into numerous vehicles, they start molding female gang members to look like the stolen victim’s identity; coloring their hair, purchasing wigs, and wearing large sun glasses, Leeper said. The gang members then transport the females to the local banks where they will present the victim’s driver’s license and a stolen 2nd party check.
Their mode of operation is the only clue: After spotting a woman who left her purse in her car, “they break the glass, they take the purse and they leave,” Leeper explained. “Then weeks later, the woman finds out that they’ve tried to cash her checks and use her credit cards, so it’s a form of identity theft as well,” Leeper said.
The nickname “felony lane gang” also refers to their pattern. Leeper said they are believed to hire women to try to cash stolen checks at drive through banks. “They instruct her to use the furthest lane from the window so the teller won’t be able to see the person in the car up close” Leeper said. They are also adept at avoiding security cameras when they commit auto burglaries all of which makes catching them a challenge for law enforcement.
“The best way that we can deter them is by educating individuals not to leave their purse or wallet in the car, because they’re out there and they’re watching,” Leeper advised. “You’re looking at car break-ins that most would look at as not a serious crime but as you start to look at and calculate the amount of money, the amount of damages people have suffered, it does start to effect the quality of life,” said Leeper.