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EBR detectives arrest two suspects associated with Florida-based gang

4 years 2 weeks 3 days ago Tuesday, March 10 2020 Mar 10, 2020 March 10, 2020 11:48 AM March 10, 2020 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - Detectives with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office say they've captured two men affiliated with a gang that's recognized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to an official report, 31-year-old Shadarryl Renee Lawrence and 30-year-old Travis Jahdiel Ward were arrested for participating in the burglary of a vehicle outside of Baton Rouge's Orange Theory Fitness Center in late February.

But the arrest wasn't made right away, only after reviewing a major clue and collaborating with authorities regarding a double- arrest in another parish were detectives able to apprehend Lawrence and Ward.  

That said, it all started with the incident at Orange Theory Fitness, where surveillance video showed thieves arriving and fleeing the scene in a black BMW. While on the premises, they broke into a woman's 2019 Infiniti and stole a Louis Vuitton purse containing her wallet and personal items. This incident alone led to a loss of at least $8,300.

But the suspects' next series of actions ultimately led to their identification and arrest.

Detectives say the thieves who took the woman's wallet and other items next deposited several checks into her bank account and then withdrew $6,000.

This in itself provided detectives and federal authorities with a clue as to the thieves' identity.

After mentioning the deposit and $6,000 withdrawal in their report, detectives stated, "this type of activity is the known M.O. of a gang out of Florida, called the Felony Lane Gang (FLG) recognized by the FBI as an organized crime gang which goes from state to state... breaking into cars and stealing purses, which contain IDs, victim's information, debit/credit cards and checkbooks. After getting the victim's IDs and checkbooks the female suspects, usually wearing disguises, then cash the checks at various banks for large sums of money." 

East Baton Rouge detectives were contacted by Mandeville authorities, who let them know they'd arrested two women matching the description of women affiliated with the FLG. Thanks to this collaboration, East Baton Rouge detectives learned that the arrested women admitted to working with three men who were also affiliated with FLG.

The men the women identified were Deshawn Waite, Wayne Brutton, and Travis Ward.

Ward was arrested and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. 

Waite and Brutton remain at large.

Detectives say they later discovered a fourth alleged member of FLG, Shadarryl Lawrence. They report finding Lawrence in possession of the Black BMW allegedly used during the burglary outside of Orange Theory Fitness. 

According to an official report, a search of the BMW yielded two window punches (tools typically used for extrication from vehicles following accidents or other auto emergencies) and wigs that the arrested women had used as disguises. 

Lawrence was arrested on multiple charges and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

 
    

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