‘Felony Lane Gang' Targeting Vehicles in New England

Police are warning New Englanders that members of a Florida-based gang are breaking into vehicles in the region.

The "Felony Lane Gang" recruits members across the nation and steal everything they can from cars.

Police in more than a dozen New England communities are investigating thefts and bank fraud connected to the gang. Even though many of the sophisticated organization's crimes are caught on camera, making arrests is still a challenge for police.

In Medway, Massachusetts, police believe surveillance cameras at Choate Park captured how the thieves work.

Detective Matthew Reardon says men drive around parking lots, checking for women's purses or bags in cars.

The pathfinder seen in the video was also connected to thefts in late February in Westford, Medway, Millis, Medfield, Natick and Westwood, then again just last week in Norwood.

"They're not interested in the electronics that can, one, be tracked, or if they're sold, can be tracked back to the people selling them," said Reardon.

He says they take the women's checkbook and ID, then pass them off to female accomplices.

They disguise themselves to look like the victims and then cash the checks, taking thousands of dollars out at a time.

This week, Weston Police released a shot of 30-year-old suspect Kimberly Phillips, who remains on the run.

Even though they're brazen, they are hard to track down.

"They use rental cars in various people's names often times the females who are doing the check fraud may or may not be from the area and if they are from the area often they don't know the people they are working for maybe by first name or have limited contact information," Reardon said.

Even if you lock your doors, like you should, it doesn't mean you're in the clear. There have also been plenty of cases of suspects smashing windows

The best thing to do is to avoid leaving bags or wallets in your car.

Other suspected thefts by the Felony Lane Gang have occurred in places such as New Hampshire, Connecticut and Washington.

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