Representatives from both Long Island counties flocked to the Suffolk Police Academy gymnasium in Brentwood on Tuesday, March 4 to witness yet another victorious press conference.
Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney and company netted thirteen fresh defendants the day prior.
“Through meticulous investigation and collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we’ve dismantled a sophisticated criminal operation that targeted neighborhoods throughout our county,” said DA Tierney.
The baker's dozen are charged with breaking into 52 vehicles, stealing 15, and swiping 75 credit cards—through which they raked up $40,000 in fraudulent purchases—since February of 2023.
Those arrested are all alleged associates of the Local Hempstead and Freeport Gang who call themselves both “5-L” and the “CC Boyz.”
“What this gang didn’t count on,” notes Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalania, “was the tenacity of our detectives to uncover their schemes. I commend the Fifth Squad, the District Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners that sent a clear message that property crime is not victimless and one we are focused on.”
In one security footage-documented instance, which Tierney showed members of the assembled media brass at Tuesday’s presser, ring-leader Shawn Mullen—who deployed his partners in crime to similarly act upon cars they knew to be unlocked with fobs present inside—even backed a blocked-in car parked within the driveway of a residence in suburban Commack directly onto grass before speeding off.
This crew did not shy away from conspiring in broad daylight, either, as was equally demonstrated.
Mullen, 24, of Hempstead, personally broke into approximately 35 vehicles and outright stole 14 of them, charges allege. He faces a top count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C Felony. He is charged with 197 counts total, including 178 of the felonious persuasion. He has been held on bail since August 2024.
Rounding out the roster of alleged car and identity thieves all due in court this month and next: Trevon Brandon-Douse, 26, of Freeport; Zion Fenner, 25, of Freeport; Jaquan Wilson, 21, of Hempstead; Edwin Pierre, 25, of Freeport; Damien Patrice, 27, of Hempstead; Jarell Lanier, 25, of Freeport; Jamal Woodside, 24, of Freeport; Kavon Wilson, 21, of Hempstead; Ramadan Cruz, 28, of the Bronx; Andrew Lawrence, 23, of Hempstead; Joshua Lee Garrett, 20, of Bethpage; and Brianna Patterson, 32, of Hempstead.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Collado, a Hauppauge (’10) graduate.
Detective Matthew Messina of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Fifth Squad and Detective Investigator Jean Graf of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Gang Task Force led the investigation with assistance from Postal Inspector Robert Moerler of the US Postal Inspection Service.
“Here’s a message for every would-be criminal out there,” said USPIS New York Division Acting Inspector in Charge Brendan T. Donahue. “If you try to exploit the postal system for criminal use, Postal Inspectors will be on the case, and we’ve had a lot of practice arresting fraudsters, over 250 years’ worth.”
“Let it be clear,” Tierney reiterates, “in Suffolk County, you cannot steal other people’s property with impunity.”