Long Island authorities have just defeated the gang behind the main car and credit card theft ring, but the “absurdity” of the state's LAX bail laws is likely to cause most of the accused to go back on the street and throw it away.
On Tuesday, the unsealed 250 count indictment accused 13 members of the “CC Boyz” crew of breaking into more than 50 cars, including Maserati, stealing 15, and filming 75 credit cards that were buying more than $40,000 in target, Walmart and Apple stores. Suffolk County District Attorney Late Anne.
But Tierney said prosecutors could struggle to keep most of the suspected thief at the back of the bar.
“We want to note that despite the serious nature of these crimes, these crimes themselves are not eligible for bail,” Tierney told reporters.
“That means our prosecutors cannot request bail,” unless the suspect has a criminal history justifying it, it will still be up to the judge.
“But if you stand alone, these cases are not eligible for bail,” he said. “And once again I think it shows the absurdity of our bail laws. [that] Our lawmakers consider it appropriate to allow organized criminals and gang members to engage in this repeated, organized criminal act, and they cannot even bail for it. ”
The Imperial State Criminal Justice Reform was passed in 2019, and the crime was held liable for the crime, for banning the establishment of bail for misdemeanors and most non-violent felony.
The CC gang, led by the three masterminds, was the subject of a 15-month joint investigation by various law enforcement agencies, officials said Tuesday.
Tierney said illegal crews frequently visit supplementary facilities, golf courses, gyms and hotel parking, using online real estate sites such as Zillow and Realtor.com, while selecting neighborhoods they felt most likely to unlock their cars.
They break into the vehicle, swiping at least some with internal credit cards and other valuables, using electronics, expensive merchandise and gift card cards, prosecutors said.
“Our team collected and analyzed hundreds of hours of video surveillance and put them together,” Tierney said. “We've collected credit card records, receipts. We interviewed hundreds of witnesses and investigations revealed that these cars were involved, and they are said to be violated by crew members who called themselves “5L” or “CC Boyz.” “
“CC” refers to “car checking” (practice checking what's inside a car), while “5L” is a cry for the crew's affiliation to the Brad Street Gang.
“The word blood has five letters. So it's '5L' and it means blood. They are neighborhood gangs that are allegedly based in Freeport and Hempstead, and are part of the bigger, famous blood set,” the DA said.
Gang members then flashed cars, cash and expensive gems stolen on social media “as a way to gain status within gangs and with the gang community.”
Three gang members were the masterminds, according to the indictment. Sean Mullen, 24 years old. Trevon Brandon Douse, 26; Zio Fenner, 25, was in charge of most thefts.
The officers stormed Mullen's home and found 122 driver licenses, 20 key FOBs, 15 Social Security cards, 20 check books, 14 passports, 8 mobile phones, 45 credit and debit cards.
“They were kept as tokens or souvenirs,” the DA said.
Police also recovered two guns at Fenner's home, including one that was stolen in March 2023, he said.
But despite accusations of hundreds of epic theft, theft and conspiracy against 13 reputable gang members, prosecutors will struggle to keep many of them locked in, Tierney said.
“I think there's the idea that no one is watching, no one cares. “We can do what we want to do. It's a non-violent crime. No one is going to do anything about it,” he said.
“But you know, my office will certainly do something about it.”
According to the District Attorney's Office, only four of the offenders have set bail on their arrest warrants.
Another suspect, Jaquan Wilson, also set bail on $100,000 in cash or bonds up to $1 million.
The remaining defendants were released in line with law without bail or have not yet been officially arrested for the charges, prosecutors said.
