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Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced the guilty plea of Baseemah Davis on Tuesday, Aug. 16, for stealing from the Balenciaga store in East Hampton in March.
“The message here is clear, organized retail theft in Suffolk County will not be tolerated,” said Tierney
In addition to pleading guilty to grand larceny, Davis, age 34, of Newark, New Jersey, also pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance, the DA's Office said.
Davis was arrested on Thursday, March 3, after she and Jamal Johns, age 26, Ali Harris, age 28, and Wazir Rodgers, age 25, all of Newark, New Jersey, and a yet-to-be-identified woman were captured on surveillance video allegedly stealing nearly $94,000 worth of handbags from the store, the DA's Office said.
The video shows a woman (who remains at large) entering Balenciaga and walking around the store and looking at various handbags.
After a short time, she asked a store employee to check if they had a shoe in a particular size.
As alleged in court documents, when the employee attempted to retrieve the shoes for her, three men and Davis, rushed into the store and began taking luxury handbags from the shelves.
After taking several bags each, all five ran out of the store and fled in a Dodge Durango, the DA's Office said.
Responding officers from the East Hampton Village Police Department located the fleeing Durango and began a pursuit. Shortly afterward, a state trooper spotted the Durango and initiated a pursuit.
The trooper pursued the Durango for a distance but terminated the chase due to safety concerns as the Durango was traveling at speeds in excess of 100 mph and was observed veering into on-coming traffic lanes, court documents show.
The group was captured when smoke began pouring out of the vehicle and it pulled over on the Long Island Expressway where three people jumped out and ran and two stayed in the vehicle, court documents said.
An ensuing search of the area led to the arrest of Davis, Harris, and Johns, as well as the recovery of 34 of the stolen handbags, the DA's Office said.
An investigation to locate the unidentified female is ongoing, officials said.
Davis will be sentenced on Friday, Sept. 23.
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