Philadelphia ‘gang member’ jailed in Blair County after statewide crime sprees

BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — An alleged member of the “Felony Lane Gang” was caught after a string of “smash and grab” thefts across Blair, Centre and other counties earlier this year.

Tiffany John, 31, of Philadelphia, was jailed on 114 charges, including multiple counts of conspiracy to commit identity theft, corrupt organizations, theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, and related offenses.

According to a 70-page affidavit of probable cause, John was allegedly involved with “smash and grab” thefts throughout Blair, Centre, Cambria, Lycoming and Dauphin counties, as well as counties in New York. Investigators alleged that each incident of a vehicle window being smashed and items and ID being stolen had a cell phone number connected with John in the area of the crime at the same time.

John, who investigators believe is connected to dozens of these crimes, is also allegedly linked to various ID fraud and theft charges from area banks, on the day of or the day after a smash-and-grab occurred.

According to the affidavit, the suspects, including John, would often rent vehicles in the area they target, often with limited or false information, making them difficult for law enforcement to trace and identify. The culprits would then use wigs, dye and other items to try to resemble the person of the ID they stole. According to court documents, John was arrested in April in Bedford County. The vehicle was allegedly found to have wigs and other items inside.

Through the investigation, detectives executed warrants that allegedly revealed John’s communications with other suspects and possible gang members. It was noted in the beginning of the affidavit that all of the smash and grab and ID theft incidents shared the same MO as the known “Felony Lane Gang.”

The gang originated in Florida in the 2000s and got its name for their propensity to use the drive-thru bank lane furthest away from the window and cameras, also known as the “felony lane,” investigators said.

According to the affidavit, the following is where the “Felony Lane Gang” hit in their weeks-long crime spree beginning in January.

Jan. 7 – Tuesday:

• Keystone Dental, Duncansville, Blair County – Smash and grab
• Sheetz, Duncansville, Blair County – Smash and grab (5 minutes from previous incident)
• Bellwood Post Office, Bellwood, Blair County – Smash and grab (19 minutes from previous incident)
• Sheetz, Patton Township, Centre County – Smash and grab (30 minutes from previous incident)
• Dynamats Gymnastics – Muncy Township, Lycoming County (1.25 hours from previous incident)

Jan. 9 – Thursday:

• Maple Grove Cemetery, Chemung County, NY – Smash and grab
• First Heritage Federal Credit Union, Stueben County, NY – Fraud, ID theft
• Jersey Shore State Bank, Lycoming County, Pa. – Fraud, ID theft

From there, John allegedly continued similar crimes across Pennsylvania throughout January and February, including in the Philadelphia area, before making her way back to Blair County to seemingly start the spree over again.

You can read the full 70-page affidavit of probable cause by clicking the link below.

Affidavit of Probable Cause for the Arrest of Tiffany John.

John was placed in Blair County Prison with bail set at $200,000.

It’s currently unknown what charges the others named in the affidavit face. As of this writing, Pennsylvania court dockets show no current charges against the named individuals.