Police chase suspects linked to check theft scam

The man fatally shot by police near Lehighton in December was suspected to be a participant in a scam popularized by a group known as the “Felony Lane Gang.”

The death of Danny Washington, 27, was ruled to be an accidental shooting by Carbon County District Attorney Jean Engler on Tuesday.

Washington died of a single gunshot wound at the conclusion of a police pursuit which covered 17 miles and crossed through Jim Thorpe and Lehighton boroughs. Four other men in the van were arrested.

During the pursuit, the driver reached speeds over 90 mph and passed several cars by crossing into oncoming traffic.

Search warrant affidavits for the van and the men’s cellphones revealed some additional details in the case.

State police said in one document that they suspected Washington and the other men were part of the Felony Lane Gang.

The men were found with $10,517.29 in cash, and during the chase, numerous stolen bank checks were thrown from the vehicle.

“It is believed that the occupants of the fleeing vehicle may be involved in a nationwide theft ring known as Felony Lane Gang,” troopers wrote in a search warrant affidavit for the men’s phones.

Washington and three of the other four men arrested hailed from the Fort Lauderdale area. According to the FBI, that is where the Felony Lane Gang originated. The gang is believed to have stolen millions of dollars using stolen checks and identification.

The scam popularized by the gang has been seen in at least 34 states nationwide and follows a similar pattern.

According to state police, the scam consists of stealing purses and wallets from vehicles. The target is usually a woman, and scammers have been known to target cars which are kept running outside of day care centers.

Women who are in need of money are then recruited to cash the checks using stolen identification, with the recruit dressed to look similar to the victim.

They generally use the outside lane of a bank drive-thru in an effort to make their disguise more effective — hence the name Felony Lane Gang.

Engler said Tuesday the suspects from the chase have used these methods.

The other four men in the van are each facing 11 counts of receiving stolen property.

A local judge set bail at $100,000 for Cedric Cason, 39, of Lauderhill, Florida; $60,000 for 23-year-old Creshaun Demetrick Caldwell of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.; $50,000 for 19-year-old Tyrone Wesley Parker Jr., of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Bail was set at $1.1 million total for the man believed to be driving the vehicle, Mitchell Lawrence Knight, 27, of Sun City, Florida.

Police identified Knight as the driver of the vehicle based on surveillance footage from a KFC drive-thru the day of the pursuit. Police went to the KFC after finding a KFC receipt in the vehicle.

The men were traveling in a white 2018 Dodge Caravan with New Jersey plates rented from Enterprise Rent-a-car.

The checks were thrown from the vehicle along Route 93. Police searched the area and found checks which were reported stolen out of Mayfield, Lackawanna County, and other checks. The men were also in possession of a stolen identification card.

“The fact that stolen blank bank checks were recovered, the occupants possessed large amounts of cash and were in possession of another person’s identification card, and unknown females cashed several checks, it is believed that these individuals are possibly members of the Felony Lane Gang,” the report said.

In 2012, A federal judge in Pennsylvania convicted 10 believed members of the gang for a theft spree which took place in Pennsylvania between August and October 2012. During that time they broke into vehicles and/or stole identities belonging to 100 people. They targeted about 25 facilities like state parks and rec centers where victims left purses and wallets in their cars while using recreation facilities.

The man identified as the leader, Travis J. Russ of Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison.