Third member of theft ring admits stealing 48 luxury bags from East Hampton store

A third person in what authorities said was a four-member organized theft ring pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing 48 high-end purses from an East Hampton Balenciaga clothing and accessory store.

Jamal Johns, 26, of Newark pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny and possession of stolen property for helping to steal more than $94,000 worth of handbags in March, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced Tuesday. 

Johns and three other people — Ali Harris, 28, Wazir Rodgers, 25 and Baseemah Davis, 34, all of Newark — were arrested after they were seen with another unidentified woman on surveillance video stealing the purses from the East Hampton store on Newtown Lane, police said.

Prosecutors said the video showed a woman wearing a pink ski mask and sunglasses go into the store March 3 at 1:30 p.m. The woman, who still hasn’t been identified, walked around the store looking at bags and appeared to be talking on a cellphone.

The woman asked a store employee to look for a pair of shoes in a particular size when the other four defendants rushed into the store to ransack handbags off the shelves, according to court documents. The five defendants sped away from the store in a Dodge Durango, authorities said.

East Hampton police and a New York state trooper began chasing the Durango on Sunrise Highway and the Long Island Expressway.

The state trooper followed the SUV on the Long Island Eexpressway where he saw smoke coming from the Durango before exiting at Exit 69. Three people ran from the vehicle into a nearby wooded area while two people stayed with the Durango, prosecutors said.

Police stopped the vehicle, recovering 34 handbags and searched the wooded area, leading to the arrest of the four suspects. Rogers and Davis pleaded guilty last month to the same grand larceny and stolen property charges, in addition to possession of a controlled substance. Johns also pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. 

Harris is still awaiting trial.

Davis is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Rodgers is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 17. Johns is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 18 and could face between three to seven years in prison.