Since May of 2023, the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office has responded to several reports of motor vehicles being broken into at our county parks and recreation areas. From these events, the victims had their windows broken out and valuables stolen. It is the known M.O. (modus opirandi) for the suspects to immediately travel to local retail and grocery stores to use the victims’ credit cards and purchase thousands of dollars in gift cards and money orders. The suspects are known to law enforcement agencies as the Felony Lane Gang.
The suspects are typically driving rental vehicles with out-of-state tags or they attempt to conceal the true registration by utilizing a paper temporary tag. The suspects are not local to Alamance County. These individuals travel across states looking for cars in parks to victimize.
As the number of visitors to parks typically increase during spring and summer, these types of crimes will most likely increase in volume.
The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office is requesting that citizens who choose to visit these locations keep valuables on their person, hide them in a location which cannot be seen from the outside of their vehicle, or leave those items that are not needed at home. As always, remain vigilant of your surroundings and if you see anything suspicious, contact the Sheriff’s Office.
If you happen to become a victim, it is imperative that you immediately contact law enforcement and your bank to report the incident. After this, share what you can with law enforcement. Credit card numbers, fraudulent purchase amounts and time frames, and other items that were stolen during the incident. The suspects work very quickly and will use the credit cards within minutes of the break-in. The sooner this information can be shared with law enforcement, the quicker the response, and hopefully, apprehension of the suspects.
The Sheriff’s Office is also requesting that all retail stores verify the identity of individuals who are purchasing large amounts of gift cards. Also, most of the suspects are concealing their identities from surveillance video footage by wearing COVID masks.
*************************************UPDATE***************************************
On July, 3, 2023, the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office obtained multiple warrants on the following individuals for their involvement in motor vehicle break-ins and fraudulent transactions in Alamance County on the dates of May 17, 2023, May 18, 2023, and June 4, 2023.
Bryan Keith Smith, Jr., B/M/24, of Rocky Mount, NC has been charged with:
3 cts. Break or Enter MV (F)
1 ct. Larceny after B&E
3 cts. Financial Card Theft (F)
5 cts. Identity Theft (F)
2 cts. Felony Conspiracy (F)
1 ct. Attempt to Obtain Property by False Pretense (F)
2 cts. Injury to Personal Property (M)
6 cts. Obtaining Property by False Pretense (F)
Photo of Bryan Keith Smith, Jr.
Decarlo Renez Royster, Jr., B/M/24, of Whitakers, NC has also been charged with the following:
2 cts. Break or Enter MV (F)
1 ct. Larceny after B&E
2 cts. Financial Card Theft (F)
3 cts. Identity Theft (F)
1 ct. Felony Conspiracy (F)
1 ct. Attempt to Obtain Property by False Pretense (F)
1 ct. Injury to Personal Property (M)
4 cts. Obtaining Property by False Pretense (F)
Photo of Decarlo Renez Royster, Jr.
Jermie O’Neal, B/M/28, of Fort Lauderdale, FL has been charged with the following:
1 ct. Break or Enter MV (F)
1 ct. Financial Card Theft (F)
2 cts. Identity Theft (F)
1 ct. Felony Conspiracy (F)
1 ct. Injury to Personal Property (M)
2 cts. Obtain Property by False Pretense (F)
Photo of Jermie O’Neal
Sherrod Robinson B/M/28 of Fort Lauderdale, FL has been charged with the following:
1 ct. Break or Enter MV (F)
1 ct. Financial Card Theft (F)
2 cts. Identity Theft (F)
1 ct. Felony Conspiracy (F)
1 ct. Injury to Personal Property (M)
2 cts. Obtain Property by False Pretense (F)
Photo of Sherrod Robinson
O’Neal and Robinson have been arrested in Wisconsin for the same offenses and are awaiting trial. Extradition to North Carolina is pending.
Smith and Royster remain at large.