BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that 21-year-old Richard E. Lucas, III of Cheektowaga, a suspect in numerous high-end vehicle thefts throughout Erie County, pleaded guilty in Erie County Court to over a dozen felony charges in eight separate criminal cases.
The district attorney's office said Lucas pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree criminal possession of stolen property, one count of second-degree attempted assault, one count of third-degree criminal mischief, one count of second-degree criminal possession of cannabis, and one count of third-degree unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in connection to the case below.
Lucas admitted to knowingly and unlawfully being in possession of a 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat that he stole from a dealership on West Henrietta Road in Rochester on March 1, 2023. The district attorney's office said he stole the vehicle’s key fob by swapping it with another generic key fob during a meeting at the dealership and then returned later in the day and drove off with the vehicle valued at $92,670. The stolen vehicle was tracked to a garage, rented by Lucas, at an apartment complex on Indian Church Road in the Town of West Seneca the next day. A search warrant was obtained for his apartment and garage. The district attorney's office said multiple large packages of cannabis, with a total weight of 5 ½ pounds, were found inside the apartment and the stolen was found inside of the garage. Lucas was not present during the search of his property and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was placed under arrest after struggling with officers outside of the apartment on Indian Church Road on April 6. He was arraigned in West Seneca Town Court and released under supervision. He was arraigned on an indictment in this case on September 7, 2023.
Lucas also pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree criminal possession of stolen property, one count of second-degree criminal mischief, one count of third-degree unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and one count of third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the following case.
According to the district attorney's office, Lucas also admitted to knowingly and unlawfully being in possession of a 2021 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, valued at $90,000, that he stole from a dealership in the Town of Orchard Park on June 7, 2023. The district attorney's office said on July 6, 2023, an Orchard Park Police detective observed Lucas driving the stolen vehicle in the area of Transit Road near Seneca Street in the Town of Elma. The detective ordered Lucas to exit the vehicle but he drove across a field and over a ditch onto Seneca Street where fled at a high rate of speed. The pursuit was terminated after Lucas nearly hit a patrol vehicle and continued recklessly driving into the Village of East Aurora. The stolen vehicle was located on July 19, 2023 outside of an apartment complex in Buffalo and Lucas was linked to the crime through DNA and other evidence. The matter was presented directly to a Grand Jury and he was arraigned on an indictment in this case on September 29, 2023.
As part of the plea agreement in that case, the district attorney's office said Lucas pleaded guilty to nine charges in six additional vehicle theft crimes in Erie County.
The nine charges — five counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree burglary, and two counts of second-degree criminal mischief are related to the following thefts:
- On December 9, 2022, stole two vehicles from a dealership on Sheridan Drive in the Town of Amherst on December 9, 2022. One of the vehicles, a 2022 Dodge Charger, was found crashed and abandoned in Washington, D.C. on December 13, 2022. The other vehicle, a 2020 Dodge Challenger, was recovered on December 11, 2023, at the Buffalo Niagara Airport long-term parking lot.
- On April 12, 2023, stole a 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from an auto dealership on Niagara Falls Boulevard in the Town of Tonawanda.
- On June 2, 2023, stole two vehicles from a dealership on Southwestern Boulevard in the Town of Orchard Park. One of the vehicles, a 2021 Ford Mustang, was recovered on July 2, 2023, on the 100 block of Parkridge Avenue in the City of Buffalo. The other vehicle, a 2017 Dodge Challenger, was recovered on June 28, 2023, on the first block of Rey Street in the City of Buffalo.
- On June 13, 2023, stole two vehicles from a dealership on Alvin Road in the Town of Grand Island. One of the vehicles, a 2023 Chevrolet Camaro, was recovered on the 400 block of Broadway in the City of Buffalo. The other vehicle, a 2023 Chevrolet Corvette, was recovered in a parking ramp on the 600 block of Delaware Avenue in the City of Buffalo.
- On July 18, 2023, stole two vehicles from an auto dealership on Main Street in the Town of Clarence. One of the vehicles, a 2022 Dodge Charger Hellcat, was recovered from Rey Street in the City of Buffalo on June 28, 2023. The other vehicle, a 2022 Aston Martin Vantage, was recovered from the 500 block of Birchwood Square in the Town of West Seneca in October 2023.
- On September 3, 2023, unlawfully entered the same auto dealership in the Town of Clarence with the intent to commit a crime. He is accused of stealing a key box and then leaving the property. He returned to the dealership three more times to steal three high-end vehicles from the property. A 2022 Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG 63 was recovered at a hotel near the Buffalo Niagara Airport in the Town of Cheektowaga on September 5, 2023. A 2022 BMW M8 Gran Coupe Competition was recovered from the 500 block of Swan Street in the City of Buffalo on September 5, 2023. A 2021 Bentley Continental was recovered from Buffalo Niagara Airport's long-term parking lot in the Town of Cheektowaga.
The district attorney's office said Lucas faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and remains held without bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced as a second felony offender on April 19.
