Police warn drivers not to leave purses, bags, and other items in plain sight in their vehicles, even for a few minutes.
The “Felony Lane Gang” has been in town, targeting parents’ vehicles as they drop off their children at local day care centers.
“They’re easy targets ? parents are only there for a few seconds and leave their purses in their cars,” said Lt. Dirk Feneley, commander of Oakland County Sheriff’s Independence Township Substation. “They sit in the parking lot and wait for moms to walk in without their purses.”
A parent’s car was broken into in a daycare parking lot in the 6000 block of Waldon Center Drive next to Independence Township Hall, in a well-lit area next to the main entry, 7:30 a.m., Nov. 10.
A thief broke out the passenger side window of another car and took a purse at 7:14 a.m., Nov. 13, at a daycare in the 7000 block of Sashabaw Road.
In that case, security surveillance video shows a silver 2015 or 2016 Hyundai Elantra back into the parking space next to the victim’s car, then a passenger, a black man in his mid to late 20’s to early 30’s, lean out, shatter the door window with a glass-punch device, and take the purse, in one motion.
“It’s springloaded so you just push it against the window and it shatters,” Feneley said. “It only takes a second.”
Deputies searched the area but didn’t find the suspects.
At about 1:52 p.m., Nov. 13, Kensington Metro Park Police found the victim’s purse in the park. It had been discarded along with several other purses stolen in other larcenies in the metro area.
Suggestions for parents and drivers include not leaving purses, computers, or any valuable items in plain sight in vehicles, even for a few seconds.
Investigation continues into the gang, reportedly named after the outside lane of a bank drivethrough from which thieves try to cash stolen checks. The group is known nationwide, Feneley said.
Similar thefts from vehicles have been reported in Lake Orion and Waterford, he said.
To report vehicles loitering, driving slowly through a parking lot, or otherwise acting suspiciously, call Oakland County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency dispatch, 248-858-4911. Anyone with information is asked to call the OCSO tip line at 1-888-TURN-1-IN.