Man gets prison for role in theft of handbags from Balenciaga store

A New Jersey man was sentenced Friday to 3½ to 5 years in prison for his part in stealing $94,000 worth of handbags from the Balenciaga luxury store in East Hampton, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.

Jamal Johns, 26, of Newark, was arrested March 3 after he and four accomplices were caught on surveillance video stealing the handbags, the district attorney said in a statement.

The video showed that at approximately 1:30 p.m., a female subject, who remains at-large, entered Balenciaga wearing a pink ski-type mask over her face and sunglasses, the statement said. The woman asked a store employee to check if they had a shoe in a particular size, and when the employee attempted to retrieve the shoes, the group rushed into the store and hurriedly began taking luxury handbags from the shelves. All five individuals ran out of the store, got into a Dodge Durango and fled, the statement said.

The East Hampton Village Police Department located the Durango and began a pursuit, the statement said. Shortly afterward, a New York State trooper observed the Durango and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit had to be terminated due to safety concerns, as the Durango was traveling at speeds of more than 100 mph and was observed veering into oncoming traffic lanes, the statement said.

The trooper followed the vehicle from a safe distance and observed the subjects exit the Durango, the statement said. A search of the area led to the arrests of Johns, Wazir Rogers, 25, Ali Harris, 28, and Baseemah Davis, 34, all of Newark. Authorities also recovered 34 of the stolen handbags, the statement said.

Johns pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, the statement said.    

Davis had pleaded guilty in August to grand larceny in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19, the statement said.

Harris also pleaded guilty to the same charges on Oct. 20 and is scheduled for sentencing of 3 to 9 years of imprisonment on Dec. 7, the statement said.

Rodgers pleaded guilty to the same charges on Oct. 17 and was sentenced to 3 to 9 years of incarceration, the statement said.

“Crimes like this diminish the quality of life for our residents and business owners and will not be tolerated," Tierney said in the statement. "I can’t stress enough that if you commit crimes like this in Suffolk County, we will prosecute you, and we will seek to send you to prison.” 

An investigation to locate the unidentified female is ongoing, the statement said.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.