BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Cheektowaga man will spend the next 5 to 15 years in prison for his role in stealing high-end vehicles throughout Western New York.
Richard E. Lucas, III, 21, was sentenced Wednesday in Erie County Court.
Lucas pleaded guilty on March 8 to numerous felony charges in eight separate criminal cases.
According to the Erie County District Attorney's Office, Lucas admitted to being in possession of a stolen 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, which was stolen from an auto dealership on West Henrietta Road in Rochester on March 1, 2023. Investigators say Lucas stole the key fob to the vehicle by switching it out with a generic key fob during a meeting at the same dealership earlier in the day. Later that evening, Lucas returned to the dealership and drove off with the vehicle, which was valued at $92,670.
Investigators and the dealership were able to track the stolen vehicle to a garage that was being rented by Lucas at an apartment complex in West Seneca. Police obtained a search warrant for the garage and Lucas' apartment. They found the stolen Hellcat in the garage with damage to the front passenger side door. Inside the apartment, police also found multiple packages of cannabis, weighing 5.5 pounds in total.
Lucas was not home at the time and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On April 6, 2023, police spotted Lucas outside the apartment complex and tried to place him under arrest, and a struggle ensued. A police detective suffered a shoulder injury in the incident. Lucas was arraigned in court and released under supervision.
Lucas later pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree , one count of attempted assault in the second degree, one count of criminal mischief in the third degree, one count of criminal possession of cannabis in the second degree and one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the third degree.
Investigators say Lucas also admitted to being in possession of a 2021 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, valued at $90,000, which he stole from an auto dealership Orchard Park June 7, 2023.
A month later, Orchard Park Police saw Lucas driving the stolen vehicle on Transit Road near Seneca Street in Town of Elma. When the detective tried to get Lucas to exit the vehicle, he sped away from the scene.
The stolen vehicle was found July 19, 2023, outside of an apartment complex in the City of Buffalo and impounded. Police say Lucas' DNA and other evidence were used to link him to the crime.
Lucas pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree , one count of criminal mischief in the second degree, one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the third degree, and one count of unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the third degree.
As part of that plea agreement, he also pleaded guilty to nine charges in six other vehicle theft crimes in Erie County.
Lucas admitted to stealing:
- A Dodge Charger one December 9, 2022, from a dealership on Sheridan Drive in the Town of Amherst valued at $85,000. That vehicle was found crashed and abandoned in Washington, DC.
- A 2020 Dodge Challenger, valued at $65,000 that was recovered at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport long-term parking lot.
- A 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from a dealership on Niagara Falls Boulevard in the Town of Tonawanda, valued at $80,000.
- Two vehicle from a dealership on Southwestern Boulevard in Orchard Park: A 2021 Ford Mustang valued at $87,107 and a 2017 Dodge Challenger valued at $22,388.
- Two vehicles from a dealership on Grand Island; a 2023 Chevy Camaro valued at $60,000; and a 2023 Chevrolet Corvette valued at $90,000.
- Two vehicles from a dealership on Main Street in Clarence; a 2022 Dodge Charger Hellcat valued at $80,000, and a 2022 Aston Martin Vantage valued at $135,000.
- Lucas also admitted to entering the same Clarence dealership and stealing the key box and later came back to the dealership to steal three vehicles, including; a 2022 Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG 63, valued at $204,850, a 2022 BMW M8 Gran Coupe Competition; valued at $104,650 and a Bentley Continental; valued at $235,850.
For those crimes, Lucas pleaded guilty to five counts of grand larceny in the second degree, two counts of burglary in the third degree and two counts of criminal mischief in the second degree.
Several police agencies assisted in the investigation; Erie County Sheriff's Office, West Seneca Police, Amherst Police, buffalo Police, Orchard Park Police, Town of Tonawanda Police, Lackawanna Police, Erie County Central Police Services Crime Analysis Center and Forensic Laboratory, Livingston County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and East Aurora Police.
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