Warrants have been issued for a Butler County man and three Allegheny County residents who have been charged with committing thefts from vehicles as a part of a nationwide “smash-and-grab” theft organization.

The state Attorney General’s office filed charges Friday, Dec. 6, against Shaquan M. Moore, 32, of Butler; Ahmed Henderson, 32, of Pittsburgh; Theresa E. Imel, 43, of Dravosburg; and Elizabeth L. Madden, 33, of Elizabeth, Pa.

Moore was charged with felony counts of conspiracy to deal in the proceeds of unlawful activities, conspiracy to commit identity theft, conspiracy to commit forgery and two counts of corrupt organizations, and a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit theft from a motor vehicle.

Henderson was charged with two counts of corrupt organizations, conspiracy to deal in the proceeds of unlawful activities and fleeing from police, and misdemeanor theft from a vehicle.

Imel and Madden were charged with corrupt organizations, conspiracy to commit forgery and identity theft.

Charges were filed at District Judge Kevin Flaherty’s office in Cranberry Township, where thefts from seven vehicle break-ins in 2023 became part of the investigation.

According to an affidavit, the investigation is ongoing into “smash-and-grab” thefts from April through March 2023 from vehicles at parks, trail heads, recreation centers, gyms and other places where people parked for short periods while they engaged in recreational activities.

Involved in the investigations regionally are police departments from Allegheny County, Beaver, Bridgeville, Castle Shannon, Erie, Greensburg, Cranberry Township, Elwood City, Moon Township, Neshannock Township, Patterson Township, Peters Township, Robinson Township, Upper St. Clair, Patton Township and Ferguson Township.

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources offices in Raccoon Creek and Presque Isle state parks, and the Mentor and Shadyside police departments in Ohio also were involved.

The method of operation used in the thefts resemble the method used by the “Felony Lane Gang,” which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The “Felony Lane” part of the name refers to the gang’s frequent use of the lane farthest from surveillance cameras in bank drive-throughs.

“The gang has been known to recruit people addicted to drugs, prostitutes, homeless and other people in difficult life circumstances to commit forgery, fraud and identity theft at these banks.

“The (Felony Lane Gang) typically travel in groups, communicate by cellphone and use well refined counter surveillance techniques to thwart law enforcement detection. The female suspects will often use disguises such as wigs, glasses or hair dye to look more like the victims from stolen IDs,” according to the 31-page affidavit.

Multiple vehicles rented by Henderson and known associates of Moore have been involved in the thefts, forgeries, identity thefts and other crimes, and were seen displaying stolen license plates at banks, traffic and surveillance cameras, and license plate readers, according to the affidavit.

Cranberry Township police received a report of a smash-and-grab theft from a vehicle on May 7, 2023, at a church on Rochester Road. The driver said the front passenger window of her car was smashed, and her purse was stolen containing a wallet, $10 in cash, driver’s license, Social Security card, bank card, debit card, credit card and other items.

On the same day, township police learned about six other vehicle break-ins at a church and at Graham Park and North Boundary Park in which windows were broken and purses were stolen.

On May 8, one of the vehicle owners in Cranberry Township reported that two of her cards were used at a Family Dollar on Frankstown Road in Penn Hills for two transactions totaling $1,009.

On May 9, a black 2021 Dodge Ram truck was recorded by a surveillance camera at a bank in Akron, Ohio, where someone tried to use another person’s driver’s license to cash checks, but was denied. The license plate also was recorded.

Henderson rented that truck on May 3 and returned it May 11, and the truck was identified as a vehicle suspected in smash-and-grab thefts in Neshannock Township, New Castle, Union Township and Cranberry Township, according to the affidavit.

Following descriptions of numerous other thefts in numerous locations, the affidavit explains Moore accompanied a woman who rented a Chrysler 300S with an Ohio license plate on June 7 and returned it June 28.

The Chrysler, according to the affidavit, was used in many fraudulent transactions involving stolen debit cards and check cashing.