They Called Her 'Cray': DC Woman Learns Prison Fate For Violent Robbery Spree Across Region
Ashley Gause helped turn a string of armed robberies across Maryland and neighboring states into a $300,000 criminal enterprise, and now she's headed to federal prison.
Gause, 33, of Washington, DC, was sentenced on Tuesday, Oct. 13, to 140 months in prison for co-leading a crew that terrorized employees at more than a dozen pharmacies and cellphone stores across Maryland, Virginia, DC, and New Jersey.
Known as "Cray," Gause helped orchestrate the robberies between May 2020 and May 2021, targeting businesses for prescription drugs and cellphones that could be resold in DC, according to fede…
Bogus Missing Baby Report Ends With Cops Assaulted, Death Threats In PalPark: Police
A report of a missing 4-month-old baby in Bergen County turned violent when the caller attacked two police officers and threatened to kill one of them, authorities said.
Obel E. Simon-Lopez, 23, a Guatemalan national living in Palisades Park, was arrested following the Thursday, Oct. 8 incident, Police Chief George Beck announced Monday, Oct. 12.
Officers responded to the area of Broad and Henry avenues around 3:33 p.m. after receiving the missing baby report, Beck said. Police initially could not find the caller at his apartment but later located Simon-Lopez outside on Broad Avenue, w…
$90K Jewelry Heist By Seven-Time Felon In Colonie Ends With Long Prison Term: DA
A thief with seven prior felony convictions who stole $90,000 worth of valuables from a Capital Region home was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 8, authorities said.
Donald Law, 39, of Cohoes, got 10 years behind bars followed by five years of probation after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary, the Albany County District Attorney’s office said.
Law and Ronald Horton, 46, broke into the home in Colonie on Dec. 30, 2025, and stole Rolex watches, a Cartier bracelet, an engagement ring, purses, and electronics, prosecutors said.
The pair then took a bus to Troy to pawn the stolen property for c…
Seaford Church Robbed For Second Time In 10 Months — This Time Losing Religious Items: Police
A Long Island man stole religious items from a church altar in Seaford, leading to his arrest more than a week later, police said.
James J. Vollaro, 58, of Deer Park, entered Maria Regina Catholic Church on Jerusalem Avenue on Sept. 28 around 7:30 a.m., the Nassau County Police Department said.
Vollaro took sacramentals from the altar and left the church, authorities said. After looking into the theft, investigators tied Vollaro to the case and arrested him Wednesday, Oct. 7 without incident, police said.
He was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny and issued an appearance ticket, pol…
Machete-Wielding Man Chases Victim, Robs Teen On Farmingdale Street: Police
A Long Island man chased a woman’s son down the street with a machete before robbing a 15-year-old boy in Farmingdale on Wednesday, Oct. 7, around 8 p.m., police said.
Saul Sanchez, 45, of Farmingdale, was arrested following the incident on Colombia Street, the Nassau County Police Department said.
The confrontation began earlier in the day when Sanchez got into an argument with a 36-year-old woman, pulled out a box cutter, and threatened her, police said. He then fled on foot, authorities said.
The woman asked her eldest son, 21, to help change the locks on the doors, investigators said. …
Saratoga Springs Man Accused Of Flashing Girls Near School Hurled Chair At Jail Window: Cops
A Capital Region man originally arrested for exposing himself to underage girls near an elementary school is facing new accusations, authorities said Sunday, Oct. 4.
Tristan Sirchia, 30, of Greenfield, threw a chair into a window while locked up in Saratoga County jail on Wednesday, Sept. 23, the county sheriff’s office said. He caused damage in excess of $1,500, police said.
Sirchia was charged with second-degree criminal mischief, a felony, then arraigned in Milton Town Court and hauled back to county jail, authorities said.
Back in March, Sirchia was arrested for an incident near Lake A…
Nine-State, $2.2M Home Depot Theft Ring Ends In 13 Plea Deals — Including Hicksville Woman, DA
A Long Island woman and a Hudson Valley man were among 13 people who admitted to a $2.2 million theft scheme that ripped off Home Depots across New York and eight other states, authorities said.
Joana Carolina Fermin, 39, of Hicksville, and Jonathan Tascon Suarez, 32, of Orange County, were both sentenced to prison time for their roles in the sprawling operation that racked up 319 documented thefts, the Queens District Attorney’s office said Monday, Oct. 5.
Suarez was the first person to plead guilty in the case, copping to third-degree grand larceny back on Feb. 18, according to prosecutor…
Man At Large After Robbing Ice Cream Parlor: Moorestown PD
Police are on the hunt for a man whole robbed an ice cream parlor in Moorestown Sunday, Oct. 4.
At 5 p.m., the nan entered Brain Freeze Ice Cream Parlor, at 99 W. Main St., approached an employee, claimed that he had a gun in his pocket and demanded that the cash register be opened, Moorestown police said.
The man stole $300 from the register and then fled on foot toward the Municipal Lot, where he entered what appeared to be a gray SUV, possibly a Nissan Rogue, police said.
He was wearing dark colored pants, a gray sweater that appeared to have no pockets, a blue Nike baseball hat, g…
Fake FBI Agents Storm Newark Apartment, Steal $7.5K: Police
A New Jersey man has been arrested after police say he and two accomplices posed as FBI agents, forced their way into a woman's apartment and stole $7,500 from her safe.
Samuel Prata, 42, was arrested Sunday, Oct. 4, in connection with the Thursday, Aug. 27 home invasion on Mott Street near Raymond Boulevard, Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda Sr. said.
Three men knocked on the door of the woman's third-floor apartment around 2:30 p.m. and claimed to be federal agents, demanding that she open the door, Miranda said. When she did, the men rushed inside and pushed her onto a c…
'Give It To Me': DC Man Had Just One Dime When Robber Shot Him In Head, Feds Say
There was almost nothing to take.
A 24-year-old man killed during a robbery outside his DC home had just a dime in his pocket when police found him after the November 2023 shooting, according to federal prosecutors.
Now, the man who killed Jireh Martinez is headed to prison for 20 years.
Kenneth Coleman, 37, was sentenced on Friday, Oct. 2, after pleading guilty to second-degree murder while armed in the Nov. 17, 2023, killing.
Martinez was coming home from a convenience store that day when Coleman confronted him and put a gun to his head, court documents state.
Coleman repeatedly demand…
Man Pulled On Car Door Handles Before Gun Handoff, Deadly Chase Through DC: Feds
It started with someone pulling on car door handles at 4:15 in the morning. It ended with a 23-year-old dead, and two men facing murder charges nearly two months later.
District residents Henry Buchanan, 48, and Charles Jenkins, 46, were arrested in connection with the Aug. 4 shooting death of Xavier Fogle in Northwest DC, federal authorities announced on Friday, Oct. 2.
According to court documents, surveillance cameras captured Fogle pulling on door handles in the 1400 block of Clifton Street NW, including one belonging to Buchanan.
Buchanan came out of a nearby building and confronted F…
2 Men Found Asleep In Stolen Car With Items Taken During String Of Trumbull Thefts: Cops
Police found two men asleep in a stolen car parked at a Connecticut business surrounded by items authorities believe were taken during an overnight string of thefts.
Rashaun Woods, of Stratford, and Malachi Stone, of Bridgeport, both 19, were arrested around 7 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, at 2 Whitney Avenue in Trumbull, police said.
Officers went to the Whitney Avenue parking lot after the car’s owner provided information on its location, police said. They found Woods and Stone sleeping in the front of the car stolen from Bridgeport overnight.
Inside, officers discovered sever…
Fake Gun, Real Charges: Trumbull Man Accused In Shelton Store Robbery
A Connecticut man accused of robbing a convenience store with a fake gun was arrested soon after the heist, police said.
Paulo Dias, 54, of Trumbull, is accused of robbing In & Out Mini Market on Howe Avenue in Shelton on Wednesday, Sept. 30, police said.
Dias walked into the store, aimed a black handgun and demanded cash. The clerk handed over money, and Dias ran away, Shelton police said.
Police said the gun was fake.
Detectives found Dias about seven hours later with the stolen cash, a gun, and gloves, police said. He also had clothing that police believed he wore durin…
