Four young women are facing felony grand larceny charges following a reported November 30 theft at the TJ Maxx located at Bridgehampton Commons on Montauk Highway.
Southampton Town Police allege that two of the women “loaded up shopping carts with items” before leaving the department store without paying for any of the merchandise.
The women then got into a white sedan with New Jersey plates, police said, and attempted to flee the area — only to be spotted shortly thereafter by responding officers as the vehicle passed through Water Mill, headed west.
Police report that officers unsuccessfully attempted to pull the car over, then the driver of the car turned the vehicle around and started to head east for several miles on Montauk Highway, during which time “passengers in the vehicle were observed throwing clothing items out the windows,” before the car hit a police vehicle at the intersection of Montauk Highway and Hayground Road.
The women were subsequently arrested by Town Police, while Southampton Village Police lent a hand in recovering the merchandise from the side of the road. Clothing items also were recovered from the car, along with wire cutters used to remove anti-theft devices, said police, who eventually determined that over $1,500 in merchandise had been stolen — all of which was eventually recovered.
The four suspects — Tnia Dickerson, 25, of Bellport; Patrice Gordon, 27, of Selden; Ilaysia Killer, 20, of Amityville; and Elishsa Wisdom, 24, of Hempstead — each were charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, both felonies, as well as possession of burglar’s tools, a misdemeanor.
Gordon, whom police identified as the driver of the getaway vehicle, was also charged with reckless driving and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree, both misdemeanors, along with “several other vehicle and traffic law violations,” police said.
The women were processed and released at Town Police headquarters in Hampton Bays.