Three Michigan men were arrested Monday for using cloned credit cards at a local store to purchase gift cards.
One of the suspects was arrested after fleeing police officers but was apprehended by a homeowner at gunpoint.
Christopher Jones, 22, Detroit, Mich., was arrested Monday for corrupt business influence, a level five felony; fraud, a level six felony; and theft, a Class A misdemeanor. He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on a $10,500 bond.
Diamante Warren, 20, Detroit, Mich., was arrested Monday and booked into KCSD on a $10,500 bond on charges of corrupt business influence, a level five felony; fraud, a level six felony; theft, a Class A misdemeanor; and battery causing serious bodily injury, a level five felony.
Antonyo Idisa-Julius Clark, 22, Southfield, Mich., was arrested Monday for corrupt business influence, a level five felony; fraud a level six felony; and theft, a Class A misdemeanor. Bond was set at $10,500.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office, Warsaw Police Department Cpl. Gordon Allen responded to a fraud investigation at a Warsaw grocery store.
Allen was informed by a loss prevention employee that three black males were using credit cards issued in females’ names to make purchases. He was given a description of the suspects’ vehicle and advised that the vehicle was leaving the parking area.
Allen got behind the vehicle and made an investigatory traffic stop on the vehicle while in the grocery parking lot near the outdoor garden area. He observed the occupants matching the description of the suspects who were positively identified by the loss prevention employee.
The employee stated four different credit cards were used by the three subjects.
Allen identified the driver as Clark, the front-seat passenger as Jones and the rear-seat passenger as Warren.
WPD K9 officer Cpl. Trent Shively, with the assistance of his K9 partner Mako, performed an exterior free air sniff of the vehicle and Mako alerted Shively to the presence of an odor of a narcotic emitting from the front driver’s door seam, according to the probable cause affidavit.
During the vehicle search for narcotics, Allen found two credit cards in a jacket that belonged to Warren. When the cards were read by officers with a scanner, the cards returned to other people and the bank information had been cloned. Officers found a credit card in the sunglasses headliner compartment that had the name Christopher Jones stamped on the front, and when that card was read the credit card number came back to a different person and the banking information had been cloned.
Allen located a Visa gift card package with the card missing. He learned that six Visa debit gift cards were purchased by the three subjects during the incident. During the course of the investigation, Warren fled on foot.
Officer Justin Curtis conducted an inventory search for tow and impound purposes. He informed Allen that he felt a large amount of plastic credit cards wrapped in a rubber band concealed in the headliner of the vehicle. Curtis did not remove those credit cards prior to Crouse Wrecker Service towing the vehicle from the lot of the local store to the north bay of the Warsaw Police Department where it was impounded.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the suspects’ vehicle and served the search warrant. Officers found 11 credit cards and found that five of the cards had been cloned with other people’s information and bank accounts. Six of the cards were Visa gift cards that had been purchased by the fraudulent cloned cards at the Warsaw store.
Officers obtained the surveillance video at the store and officers identified Clark, Warren and Jones obtaining gift cards with the fraudulent cloned credit cards. Officers found that Warren had attempted to use the fraudulent cloned cards to obtain money, but the transaction was declined. The total amount stolen using the fraudulent gift cards was $667.14.
Officers obtained consent from Jones to search his cell phone. In the cell phone, officers found where a screenshot had been taken of a site explaining how to purchase credit car information of other people.
Paul Heaton, WPD officer, spoke to Clark, Warren and Jones and they all admitted to using the cloned cards knowing they did not belong to them.
Kosciusko County Dispatch advised a subject at Shamrock Mobile Home Park had been observed matching the description of Warren, who had fled on foot earlier. Officers responded and located Warren where he was being held at gunpoint by a homeowner.
The homeowner advised he observed Warren flee from Shamrock Mobile Home Park and he pursued Warren.
The homeowner advised he attempted to stop Warren and Warren began hitting him and bit him on the neck, causing puncture marks and severe pain.
