DA brings down theft ring
Riverhead Auto Mall was one of six dealers targeted by alleged crooks 0 comments below
Riverhead Auto Mall was one of six Long Island auto dealers victimized by a ring of thieves who stole more than 300 tires and rims from auto dealerships and residential neighborhoods throughout Suffolk County, according to District Attorney Tom Spota.
The five men were indicted Thursday on numerous charges following a seven-month investigation that resulted 11 search warrants and the recovery of 65 rims, Mr. Spota said.
The stolen items were worth more than $250,000, officials said. The men would resell the stolen rims, with a set of high-end rims that would normally sell for $4,000 being sold at prices of up to $1,000. Some of the stolen items were sold on Ebay or Craig's List, Mr. Spota said, and two of the suspects allegedly rented storage sheds to hide the stolen goods.
“Crewmembers would first steal a van, often a Plymouth Voyager or a Dodge Caravan, and strip the vehicle of its seats to make room for the dozens of rims they had targeted for that night's crime spree,” Mr. Spota said.
The other dealerships targeted were Banylon Honda, Atlantic Auto Mall in Bay Shore, Competition Toyota in Middle Island, King O'Rourke GMC Cadillac in Smithtown and Smithtown Acura, Mr. Spota said. Arrested were Darren Scales, 24, of Mastic; Steven Clark, 25, of Holbrook; Hasheem McLaurin, 28, of Amityville; Lahsheem Stewart, 19, of Selden; and Kelvin Mitchell, 24, of Centereach. All five were charged with numerous counts of grand larceny, as well as criminal mischief and conspiracy charges.
