EDMOND, Okla. – A flagged bank account leads to three arrests in Edmond.
They’re reportedly members of the ‘Felony Lane Gang’, a group out of Florida men that venture into the metro in the spring and summer.
Richard Louis, Ikah Simms, and David Exalien were all arrested on Wednesday, with alleged ties say to this gang.
It’s a lane at the bank that’s notorious. ‘Felony lane’ is located furthest from the teller at each bank, where the customer is least identifiable.
“That’s the lane where everybody tries to pass bad checks,” explained Jenny Wagnon, with Edmond Police.
Now, a crop of criminals out of the Sunshine State are targeting the parking lots of gyms, day cares, and parks.
“Here in Edmond, we know that they’ve been here for the last couple of years, they usually come in the Spring and the Summers,” said Wagnon.
The gang has a system. For the system to work, they must steal from at least two different victims.
Police say at times, they’ll target entire rows in parking lots.
With the stolen checkbook of one victim, and the stolen license of a second, the group will target a bank, forging the check to be cashed by an impersonator of the second victim.
“That’s why they have the females with them,” said Wagnon. “Sometimes they’ll wear a wig, a hat, sometimes they’ll just be the female.”
But the disguise didn’t quite work on Wednesday, when a closed account raised some alarms.
“Tried to cash a check, on one of our victim’s accounts,” said Wagnon. “It was flagged.”
Police say for some time they have been working with local banks, to help track this gang.
Thanks in part to an astute employee of and Edmond, Bank of Oklahoma branch, the three alleged members are off the streets.
But the battle against the felony lane gang, is far from over.
“We were able to catch these three, but there are others that we’re looking for,” said Wagnon. “They’re part of a much larger group.”