Police search for three men accused of spending $20,000 on stolen credit card
Montreal police are trying to identify three men who allegedly committed fraud with stolen credit card. In a statement, police said the men’s victim went to a bakery in St-Laurent on March 29 when she was robbed of her wallet. Her credit card was used to make several purchases totaling over $20,000 in just five hours before she cancelled her card. The suspects were caught on video on surveillance cameras at several ATMs.
The first suspect is described as having tan skin and black hair and wore pale grey pants, a short black coat and black basketball shoes during the robbery. He is also accused of committing a second robbery, also in St-Laurent. The second suspect is described as overweight with a short beard. In surveillance footage, he was wearing a black quilted hat and a winter coat. A third suspect appears to be older than the others, with white skin, white hair and glasses. In footage, he was seen wearing a black winter coat. Anyone with information is asked to call the anonymous Info-Crime hotline at 514-393-1133. [For more: CTV News]
Passenger jumps out of car to help NC trooper tackle shoplifting suspect
An ordinary drive on Sunday afternoon in Greenville quickly turned into a bizarre scene. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol was responding to a shoplifting call at Rack Room Shoes at the Greenville Mall when the suspect took off on foot, followed by the responding state trooper. Matt Goschke was riding in a car nearby when he saw what was happening. He decided to hop out of his car to help, and tackled the suspect until the trooper could catch up and handcuff him. The suspect was then escorted back to the trooper’s car. Goschke said it was a “crazy experience” but was glad he could help out. [For more: WNCN News]
Florida police officer crashes cruiser into tree while responding to shoplifting incident
A Lakeland Police Department cruiser hit a small tree head-on in the Lakeside Village parking lot Thursday while a police sergeant was trying to catch up with a car speeding away from a shoplifting incident at Belk department store. Sergeant Tom Collins told investigators he was trying to get close enough to read the car’s tag numbers when the cruiser skidded and hit the tree on the south side of the Belk department store. He suffered abrasions when the airbag deployed, said police spokesman Seregant Gary Gross. As the getaway car sped away, police did not pursue it, but instead radioed a description, Gross said. An officer spotted the car driving slowly, about 20 mph, because of a blown front tire. Police followed the car, and at Kathleen Road and George Jenkins Boulevard the driver pulled over. Two men and a woman, all with Orlando addresses, were arrested on grand theft charges. And police confiscated $2,711 worth of Belk merchandise, mostly children’s clothing, along with items from other retail stores. The driver, Renford Patterson, 24, was also charged with driving on a suspended license. In addition to the local charges, he has warrants out of Hardee and Orange counties for failure to appear in court on a suspended driver license charge and a felony retail theft charge.
The incident started when Belk loss prevention associate Wemer Dangelmaier noticed three people come into the store who looked like people who had shoplifted a large amount of merchandise last week. One of the men was disguised as a woman, wearing a dress, he told investigators. Dangelmaier alerted the police and officers were positioned outside the store while Dangelmaier continued to watch as the three picked up items, eventually pulling out some Belk shopping bags and stuffing them with the merchandise. As the three left the store, they saw the marked police cars, Gross said. They took off running , dropping one bag, and got into a 2011 silver Hyundai, he said. As the car sped out of the parking lot, Collins was arriving at the scene and followed for a short distance before having the accident. After the getaway car stopped, officers identified the man disguised as a woman as Patterson, the driver. The other man arrested on grand theft charges, Archibald Green, 21, has a warrant out of Orange County on charges of grand theft, Gross said. Police identified the woman as Kentavia Furlow, 25. [For more: News Chief]
Texas Constables bust massive ORC ring
The Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office busted a massive theft ring, leading to the arrest of a man and a woman, and the recovery of thousands in stolen merchandise. Investigators with Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman’s Office wrapped up a three-month investigation with the arrest of Andre Tan Nguyen, and his wife Julie Nguyen and the recovery of enough stolen merchandise to fill two U-Haul trucks, Herman said at a press conference Friday. The stolen merchandise, which totaled into the hundreds of thousands of dollars range, had been stolen from retailers, such as Target, Home Depot and Lowes, in the Houston area, and from stores in other locations in Texas. “He (Andre Tan Nguyen) would literally give these people a list of the things he wanted them to go out and steal,” Herman said. Investigators learned of the theft ring several months ago, after deputy constables arrested two theft suspects who were running from a Target store in northwest Houston. Herman said based on the information, that undercover Precinct 4 Deputies were able to infiltrate the Organized Crime Theft Ring after obtaining credible information that a suspect identified as Andre Tan Nguyen was buying and selling stolen retail merchandise.
“We literally went out and sold Mr Nguyen and his wife, property they thought was stolen,” Herman said. Deputies were able to track stolen merchandise to a residence in Houston and obtained a search warrant. Constable Deputies executed the search warrant and discovered 5 bedrooms inside the home each with stolen property stacked ceiling high. Much of the merchandise were power tools and vacuum cleaners, Herman said. Deputies also seized two vehicles from the home that investigators said were used in the theft ring. Deputies arrested Andre Tan Nguyen and Julie Nguyen, and and charged them both with organized retail theft, and possession with a criminal instrument. Both are in the Harris County Jail with bond of $500,000 each. Herman said his office is working to clear theft cases with other agencies in Houston, and in other Texas jurisdictions. “This will have a significant impact to the retail thefts in our area,” Herman said. [For more: Houston Patch]
Employees give themselves the gift of fraudulent gift cards
Two Sam’s Club employees in Illinois were arrested after they loaded thousands of dollars on store gift cards, prosecutors said. Both were charged with theft. Teale Lindsey, 19, of Elmwood Park, and David Harvey, 20, of Chicago, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice. Both were employed at the Sam’s Club in Hodgkins. Between June 23 and July 1, prosecutors said Lindsey and Harvey fraudulently loaded over $8,000 on Sam’s Club gift cards. Around June 23, the prosecutor said Harvey approached Lindsey and asked for her to show him how to add value on store gift cards. Lindsey allegedly loaded twelve gift cards totaling $1,800. Over the next several days, the prosecutor said Harvey racked up over $7,000 in store gift cards. The two were arrested on July 1 and charged with felony theft. Lindsey has no prior criminal background and was released on a $25,000 I-bond. There was some debate between the judge and prosecutor before Harvey’s bail was lowered from $15,000 to $5,000, with ten-percent to apply. The prosecutor also asked for special conditions of bond, that both employees not be allowed to return to the Hodgkins’ Sam’s Club while the case is pending. “Assuming they’re both still employed there,” the prosecutor said. Harvey is due back in court July 10 in Bridgeview. Lindsey’s next court hearing is July 18. [For more: Oak Lawn Patch]
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