Investigators Learn ID Of 'Felony Lane Gang' Suspect From Tweet
By Jeff Todd
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) - After a CBS4 story, a tweet and a nationwide search has led Arapahoe County investigators to their suspect.
In September the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office put out some pictures from a surveillance camera of a woman suspected of being part of the Felony Lane Gang, a group of criminals that steal from easy targets like parking lots and then take stolen IDs and checkbooks to drive-up bank tellers.
A woman in New York recognized the suspect as the woman who stole her purse.
"There was a woman who reached out via Twitter and she said, 'Hey, I know this lady, she stole from me,'" said Audry LaCrone with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators are now looking for 47-year-old Holly Carmel.
"We were able to obtain an arrest warrant for a woman who was part of the Felony Lane Gang. She has national extradition. Her arrest warrant is for identity theft which is a felony and also theft which is a misdemeanor," said LaCrone.
CBS4 started reporting on the Felony Lane Gang stealing from mothers at gyms and even day care parking lots.
"This woman was at one point in Colorado but obviously she was in New York. They do move around; that's why getting the picture out is so important," LaCrone said.
Now the hope is authorities somewhere in the country will arrest Carmel and she can face justice in Colorado.
"We're going to work as hard as we can and do whatever we can to get this information out to the public and get (the victims) that justice," LaCrone said.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
