Caln chief says incidents with Felony Lane Gang have been reported in area
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
CALN – Caln Police Chief Joseph Elias warned area residents about the Felony Lane Gang at the township’s board of commissioners meeting Thursday night.
After an incident in July, police have arrested multiple members of the gang, which specializes in stealing personal information and then using it to take money from victims’ bank accounts.
“They look for identification information in cars, and they use that information to gain access to bank accounts,” said Elias.
He said that the money can then be used to fund other criminal activities.
The chief said that people should be aware of what information they leave in their cars when they are at the grocery store, for example. One gang member may follow a potential victim into a store while another takes identification credentials from the abandoned car.
The gang, primarily from Florida and Texas, has been operating up the east coast recently, including incidents reported in Chester and Delaware Counties.
The chief is hopeful that the gang will not strike anyone else in the area; after July’s incident and subsequent arrests, no other incidents have been reported.
Township Engineer Jeff McClintock initiated discussion on regulations to be passed regarding storm water management at Thursday’s meeting.
While structures already present on the property will not require action, additions could require homeowners to take measures, such as filtration pits or seepage beds to redirect storm water. Homeowners will have to have these measures planned in order to obtain building permits.
The state passed a bill requiring townships to regulate storm water management in July. McClintock said that regulations will be discussed in the coming months and have to enacted by January 2.
During the public comment portion of Thursday’s meeting, one resident appealed to the board of commissioners to take any action they can to see that the Kings Grant Community is completed soon.
He said that the developer has been absent for the past three years, leaving buildings and streets in the community unfinished.
“I didn’t buy it [my house] to live in a construction site for five years,” said the resident.
Commissioners said that they, too, have been annoyed with the lack of progress, but because the developers own the land, they doubt any legal action would go in their favor.
“As an entity that makes laws, we’re bound to them,” said Vice President Charles Kramer. “We can’t touch private property.”
Township Solicitor Kristin Camp explained that the Permanent Extension Law, passed during the recent economic downturn, gave developers a grace period, protecting them from laws that usually require construction to be completed in a timely fashion.
“If something goes down where we can find a loophole or a quick fix, we’re going to do it,” said Kramer.
