Crime & Safety

Norwalk Car Burglary Leads to 'Felony Lane Gang' Suspect

No charges have been made, but police said the suspect is wanted for a series of identity theft and larceny crimes in a sweeping case which involved the Secret Service.

 

Milford Police are questioning an alleged member of a group which has been nicknamed “‘The Felony Lane Gang’” according to a police report just released by the The incidents being investigated involve at least four other towns in Conn. and the Secret Service assisted local police departments, reports state. No charges have yet been issued.

Shannon Truax, 41, of Southwest Seventh Avenue in Hallandale Beach, Florida, has been detained in relation to a series of crimes which involved stealing purses from parked cars, obtaining personal information from the stolen goods, and then using that identification to withdraw money from the victim(s)’ bank—using the drive-through lane furthest from the bank teller to do so— the report states.

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The far banking lane is apparently dubbed the ‘felony lane’ since those committing identity theft are more likely to use it than the lane nearest the teller.

Wilton Police became involved in the case when they received a complaint from a victim after her car was burgled at LA Fitness in Norwalk, police said. The victim then said she had an unauthorized $3,000 withdrawn from located at 34 Danbury Road in Wilton, on April 21 of this year, police said. The United States Secret Service (USSS) New Canaan Police and Westport Police were all involved in a seemingly widespread investigation for similar crimes.

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Truax has been “wanted in several states as well as wanted by the USSS for similar activity throughout the country,” the report states. Police said that other similar incidents in Fairfield County all reported a female suspect making transactions in the drive-through lane.  Reports state that “Truax and her organization were in the Fairfield County area in late April of this year and then resurfaced in the area in late May.”

After photos circulated throughout several bank agencies, an employee at a Bank of America branch in Milford identified Truax and she was then taken into custody on May 29 by Milford Police, the report states.

The Felony Lane Gang’s “modus operandi is typically to target female victims who leave their purses in the car, usually at [a] gym, park, church and school parking lots. Victim’s personal identifying information is obtained mainly through car burglaries which is then ultimately used at a bank for identity theft purposes,” the police report states.

“At the present time, affected agencies are exploring the possibility of having Truax charged on the federal level….Wilton PD has not yet served their warrant as of this date, and no formal arrest of Truax has been made,” the report states. 


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