6 plead guilty to stealing 54 vehicles in downstate spree
FILE - New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a ceremony on June 6, 2022, in New York. James charged in lawsuit, Wednesday, June 28, 2023, that operators of four nursing homes in New York misused more than $83-million in government money and neglected residents, including some who were malnourished or were left to sit for hours in their own urine and feces. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) Credit: AP/Mary Altaffer
ALBANY — Six men have pleaded guilty to a fast-and-furious spree in which they stole 54 vehicles over a year on Long Island and in New York City and Westchester County, engaging in high-speed chases with police, according to the state attorney general’s office.
The crew often ended its escapades by posting images of members in stolen cars and fanning $100 bills, said Attorney General Letitia James.
James said the six men from the Bronx were responsible for more than 200 burglaries at auto dealerships and cellphone stores over the last 13 months, including in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The defendants range in age from 23 to 47 and have pleaded guilty to various charges, including grand larceny and burglary, for crimes that netted $3 million in cash, James said.
The men are scheduled to be sentenced Friday.
“Operation Redline” involved the state Organized Crime Task Force in the attorney general’s office, the New York City Police Department, the FBI and 29 local and county police agencies in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. They include the Nassau and Suffolk county police departments and police in Amityville, Floral Park and Hempstead.
James said the crew would travel to neighborhoods with auto dealerships and cellphone stores and often burglarize several in one night. At car dealerships, large windows were smashed, and then the cars would roar out, James said. Social media images, many of them posted minutes after the crimes, helped identify the suspects, she said.
“The six individuals convicted and sentenced today went on a crime spree that impacted businesses and residents throughout downstate New York,” James said. “These burglars left a trail of broken glass, smashed businesses and dangerous high-speed chases in their wake. I thank my partners in local law enforcement for their coordination and support as we took down this dangerous crew.”
The defendants and the charges they pleaded to are:
- Josepher Cartagena, 27, second-degree grand larceny.
- Brandon Collazo-Rivera, 26, second-degree grand larceny.
- Douglas Noble, 29, second-degree grand larceny.
- Alexander Santiago, 28, second-degree grand larceny.
- Justin Herrera, 23, third-degree burglary.
- Willie Baines, 47, third-degree attempted burglary.
The attorney general’s office didn’t release the names of their defense attorneys.
Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.
