June 13, 2023 – Washington Co., WI – Washington County Sheriff deputies arrested two men from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Saturday after they allegedly broke into numerous cars at a park in the Town of Addison.
They remain in custody at the Washington County Jail. The men are believed to be involved in similar thefts at a church in Dodge County earlier in the day. Evidence also shows the two men had been in the Denver, Colorado area only two days before, potentially committing similar thefts.
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The suspects had multiple credit cards and IDs belonging to victims from across the nation. The arrests came after an observant Washington County deputy saw that their car matched a vague description of a possible suspect vehicle and conducted a traffic stop because of illegal window tint.
Only days prior, the Germantown Police arrested two women from Texas who had ties to Fort Lauderdale and were wanted by numerous agencies across southeast Wisconsin for similar incidents.
Washington County Public Safety agencies and surrounding jurisdictions have seen a drastic increase in automobile break-ins over the past several months. A similar trend has played out nationwide and is often attributed to the organized crime gang based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, known as the “Felony Lane Gang.”
Named for their frequent use of the farthest bank lane in the drive-through as a mechanism to avoid detection, the “Felony Lane Gang” is a well-organized, rank structured, criminal enterprise who have been known to recruit individuals that travel across the country committing “smash and grab” thefts from parked cars while being managed and surveilled by higher ranking members. The smash and grabs target cash, checks, and other personal identifying cards, which allow them to make fraudulent financial transactions and take on the identity of the crime victims.
Washington County Sheriff’s investigators are working diligently with public safety partners all over Wisconsin on these cases. There are several factors that make these cases particularly challenging for investigators. There are multiple crews that work in an area and only stay for a short period of time which makes identification and locating difficult. The significant number of victims and fraudulent transactions require substantial follow-up to obtain all necessary evidence.
As an agency, it is our goal to not only locate those that are committing crimes locally, but to identify and prosecute those at all levels of the criminal organization. The bottom line is that these cases are much bigger than simple petty thefts.
They are highly organized groups responsible for committing felonies across the entire nation and require significant investigative resources and coordination from multiple agencies to be properly investigated.
As always, we appreciate our community members being vigilant and looking out for one another by reporting anything suspicious. We also ask that you not leave valuables in cars, including purses and wallets. If you become a victim, report it to the authorities and your financial institutions without hesitation.
