File Photo
DA Katz said this investigation and prosecution uncovered a weakness in the security of our region’s air cargo industry.
By Forum Staff
A Manhattan man has been sentenced to up to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty in
September to holding more than $2.5 million in stolen Gucci and Chanel designer merchandise, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Monday.
The luxury items were part of a May 2020 Kennedy Airport heist of more than $4 million in expensive goods. David Lacarriere and another defendant, who was previously sentenced, were caught with jewelry, handbags, ready-to-wear clothes, sneakers and other accessories.
Lacarriere, 34, pleaded guilty in September to criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree, a B felony, before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gene Lopez. On Monday, Justice Lopez sentenced the defendant to 5 1⁄2 to 11 years in prison.
Co-defendant Oscar Asencio, 33, of 88th Street in Elmhurst, Queens, pleaded guilty in August to criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, also before Justice Lopez, who sentenced Asencio on Aug. 16 to 3 1/2 to 6 years in prison.
According to the charges, on May 17, 2020, forged documents were used to gain access to a cargo importer facility at the Kennedy Airport. The theft crew got away with a shipment of high-end designer merchandise. Port Authority Police recovered the abandoned trailer used in the heist on May 29, 2020, on 56th Road in Maspeth. Inside, police found only shipping pallets, shipping tags, wrapping material and display cases. In an effort to erase evidence, the trailer was doused with bleach.
DA Katz said the investigative team utilized physical investigative techniques, surveillance, as well as
GPS and an extensive video canvassing to track Lacarriere and his co-conspirators to a non-operational beauty salon believed to be used as a stash house for the stolen goods. Port Authority Police and the JFK FBI Task Force put the location – Candi World Beauty Bar at Guy R. Brewer and 147th Avenue in Jamaica – under physical surveillance.
Asencio, according to court records, helped protect the stolen merchandise in the stash location. Asencio was seen on surveillance video carrying bags filled with the stolen property in and out of the building.
Continuing, the DA said while observing what appeared to be a sale of some of the stolen property on June 3, 2020, the investigative team froze the Candi World location. Spotting the authorities, Lacarriere ran from police and sought to hide inside the building. The investigative team executed a court-authorized search warrant for the location, searched the site and Lacarriere was found inside hiding in a closet. Also, inside the defunct business, police discovered mountains of boxes stuffed with the stolen designer goods – still in the manufacturers’ packaging. In all, police recovered more than 3,000 authentic Gucci items – clothes, handbags and other accoutrements. They also recovered just over 1,000 authentic Chanel products – purses, jewelry, sunglasses, shoes and other accessories. The value of the recovered merchandise totaled more than $2.5 million.
DA Katz said this investigation and prosecution uncovered a weakness in the security of our region’s air cargo industry. Working with the Port Authority and the Transportation Security Administration, improved safety and security measures have been implemented.
