35°
Arrested were: Ahmad Franks, 24, Shaquan White, 23, Nathan Braswell, 20, Ibn Bellamy, 24, Zamir Wright, 20, all Newark residents, Ryan Bowen, 26, Khyree Lawrence, 20 both East Orange residents and Mohammed Buhari, a 45-year-old Virginia resident.
Federal officials detailed the thefts:
Audi Q5, Jersey City: On Nov. 5, 2021, a 2021 Audi Q5 was reported stolen in Jersey City, NJ. Just two days later, on Nov. 7, two people—Franks and Buhari—negotiated over an encrypted messaging app to sell the Audi Q5 and three other stolen cars (an Audi Q7, a Range Rover, and a BMW X4M). Franks sent photos, and they agreed on a price of $17,500, with Buhari paying $500 through a digital wallet. Later that day, Franks shared his location in Pennsylvania, where the two met to complete the deal. The stolen Audi Q5 was last seen near Kingsville, Maryland, and remains missing.
2020 Range Rover, Tenafly, NJ: On April 27, 2022, a 2020 Range Rover was reported stolen from Tenafly, NJ, between 6:30 and 10:30 p.m. Shortly after, photos of the Range Rover and its registration card were found on a cell phone belonging to Bellamy. The images, created at 10:38 p.m. that evening, showed the Range Rover near Passaic Street in Newark, a location later used as a burn site for another stolen car tied to a fatal shooting. On March 2, 2022, a stolen 2022 Hyundai Palisade was involved in a Newark shooting where three people were shot, one fatally, before being found burned near Passaic Street. The stolen Range Rover was finally recovered on May 17, 2022.
2021 BMW X5, East Brunswick, NJ: On June 17, 2022, a 2021 BMW X5 was reported stolen from East Brunswick, NJ, at around 3:59 p.m. Within an hour, Franks sent photos of the BMW X5, including its registration, to an associate (CC-1) and arranged to deliver the car to the Bronx, NY. Law enforcement identified Hillside, NJ, as the location of one photo, noting a visible sign in the background and a tattoo on Franks’s forearm matching his social media images. ALPR data confirmed the BMW’s journey from Hillside to the Bronx, where it arrived around 7:24 p.m. The next day, CC-1 informed Franks that the car had been towed, calling it “[b]ad business.” The stolen BMW X5 was later found on Oct. 18, 2022, inside a shipping container at the port in Norfolk, VA.
BMW M8 Recovered In West Orange, NJ: On June 27, 2022, at around 9:21 p.m., Franks searched online for “million dollar homes in Great Neck” and browsed a luxury home website. About 20 minutes later, his phone’s location was tracked to Northern Boulevard in Little Neck, NY, about 3.5 miles from Great Neck. At 9:55 p.m., a 2022 BMW M8 Competition convertible was reported stolen nearby on Northern Boulevard. Later that evening, data showed Franks and the stolen BMW traveling together from New York into New Jersey. Franks took photos of the car and its insurance card, then sent them to co-conspirators while attempting to sell the BMW for $15,000. The next day, on June 28, police recovered the stolen BMW in West Orange, NJ, about 650 feet from Franks’s last known location.
2018 Audi RS5, Ridgewood, NJ/ 2021 Black Range Rover, Cranford, NJ: On July 1, 2022, at around 7:15 a.m., a 2018 Audi RS5 was reported stolen in Ridgewood, NJ, and detected in Newark shortly after. Later that morning, at 10:06 a.m., a 2021 Black Range Rover was reported stolen in Cranford, NJ; authorities determined that the suspects arrived in the stolen Audi. The two cars were seen traveling together between New Jersey and New York, and Franks received seven photos of both vehicles on his phone. Franks then shared these photos with co-conspirators who agreed to buy the cars, providing a Bronx address for delivery. Around 1:39 p.m., the cars were tracked moving from New Jersey to the Bronx, and Franks searched the Bronx address in a maps app. Later, Franks exchanged messages with another co-conspirator about the payout amounts for the cars. The Audi was recovered in Irvington, NJ, on July 2, but the Range Rover remains missing.
Mercedes Benz, Woodbridge: On Oct. 10, 2022, a 2022 Mercedes Benz S580 was reported stolen in Woodbridge, NJ, between 6:15 and 6:19 p.m. Within an hour, the car was detected in Newark, and Bellamy began negotiating its sale with a co-conspirator (CC-7), agreeing on a price of $7,500. CC-7 provided a Bronx address, which Bellamy then sent to another associate (CC-8). During this time, a Kia Optima registered to Bellamy’s girlfriend was seen near an apartment in Irvington associated with Bellamy and another co-conspirator. The Kia and the stolen Mercedes traveled together from New Jersey to New York later that evening, consistent with Bellamy’s text messages. The Kia returned to Irvington around 12:33 a.m. on Oct. 11, and law enforcement recovered the stolen Mercedes Benz in the Bronx that same day.
You can click here to read about the other thefts.
Some of the stolen cars were used during the commission of other crimes, including the theft of additional cars, shootings, and a homicide, Sellinger said. The 14 cars stolen by the defendants have an estimated total value of at least $550,000, authorities said.
The men were charged with conspiring to receive, possess, or sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, authorities said. Franks is also charged with five counts of possession of a stolen vehicle and one count of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. Bellamy is also charged with one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, and Buhari is charged with one count of sale, receipt, or possession of a stolen vehicle.
Five of the defendants are already in custody on prior charges and will appear at a later date.
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