Local Residents Tied to Car Burglary Ring

Four charged by attorney general in thefts spanning seven Western Pa. counties

By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
December 10, 2024
Posted in: Crime and Police News

Four people, including two with ties to the Mon-Yough area, have been accused by the state Attorney General’s office with being part of a “smash-and-grab” burglary ring that took credit cards and checkbooks from vehicles, then stole cash from the victims.

Investigators have linked the group to at least 68 thefts in 19 different communities, according to a spokesperson for Attorney General Michelle Henry.

Charges were filed Friday in magisterial district court in Cranberry Twp., Butler County, where at least seven of the thefts are alleged to have occurred.

In some cases, investigators allege, the group preyed on victims who were at churches, day care centers, playgrounds and parks.

Charged in connection with the case were:

• Theresa E. Imel, 43, of Dravosburg, charged with participating in a corrupt organization, criminal conspiracy and identify theft;

• Amed Henderson, 32, of Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, participating in a corrupt organization, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, and criminal conspiracy;

• Elizabeth Madden, 33, of Elizabeth, participating in a corrupt organization, criminal conspiracy and identify theft; and

• Shaquan M. Moore, 32, of Butler, participating in a corrupt organization, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, identity theft, and three counts of criminal conspiracy.

The defendants are awaiting a preliminary hearing, court officials said.

“These defendants are charged with breaking into vehicles, often by smashing a window, to steal personal items, and then violating the victims even further by accessing their bank accounts,” Henry said. “These invasive, random crimes cause financial stress and strip the victims and their communities of a sense of security.”

The thefts are alleged by police to have begun in April 2023 and contined through July 2023, striking a church in Butler County, a day-care center in Lawrence County, a county park, and the beach at Presque Isle in Erie.

A spokesperson for Henry’s office said investigators from multiple police departments tracked down the members of the organization through car rental forms, surveillance, and other tactics.

Investigators allege that Henderson and Moore used rented cars with stolen license plates to search for their victims in parking lots at recreation centers, churches and parks.

According to a criminal complaint filed with Magisterial District Judge Kevin J. Flaherty in Butler, they are accused of smashing car windows — or in some cases, accessing cars that were left unlocked — to steal purses, wallets and other items.

According to police, after the break-ins, Imel and Madden are accused of accessing the victims’ bank accounts and the group shared the proceeds.

The attorney general’s office said in the criminal complaint that the thefts were similar to those conducted by a group in Florida that called itself the “Felony Lane Gang.” The term “felony lane” refers to a bank drive-through lane that is furthest away from the teller window and from surveillance cameras.

According to the criminal complaint, many of the forged checks that were allegedly cashed by Imel and Madden were done through transactions at bank drive-through windows.

The “felony lane gang” in Florida used rented cars — often obtained using fraudulent identification — to scout parking lots for victims, according to the complaint.

The thieves often used stolen license plates or tinted the windows of the rental cars to make it harder for police to identify them, the complaint states.

Following their thefts in Florida, according to the complaint, the thieves would recruit accomplices — usually women — to forge and cash stolen checks, or make withdrawals using the victims’ credit cards, sometimes while wearing wigs or other disguises.

The accomplices received a portion of the proceeds, the complaint states.

The four people charged in Butler County are accused of adopting the same tactics, including the use of rental cars with tinted windows, according to the complaint.

Copycats of the original “felony lane gang” have been reported in multiple states, the attorney general’s office said in the criminal complaint.

Originally published December 10, 2024.

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