A 54-year-old Ocklawaha man was arrested after he stole a wallet from a Winn-Dixie parking lot and he attempted to use the victim’s debit card to make an online purchase.
On Saturday, February 26, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office corporal was dispatched to the Winn-Dixie located at 15912 E Highway 40 in Silver Springs in reference to the theft of a wallet.
A male victim stated that on Friday, February 25, he had driven to the grocery store with his girlfriend. They purchased groceries and walked to their vehicle at around 7 p.m. When the victim realized his wallet was missing, he returned to the store and was able to view the security footage from the parking lot.
The victim stated that the security footage showed a man who picked up the wallet and left in a vehicle.
The victim’s wallet contained approximately $100 in cash, several debit cards, and driver’s licenses that belonged to him and his girlfriend.
At around 11:25 p.m., the victim’s girlfriend received a notification on her phone that her debit card had been used for an attempted $3,155 purchase on the retail website AliExpress. A couple minutes later, two additional charges were attempted on the same website. All three transactions were declined.
The corporal reviewed the grocery store’s security footage and observed the victims leaving the store at around 7:05 p.m. A short time later, a man wearing a blue hat was observed picking up the wallet, and he entered a red SUV. After the man spent approximately 20 minutes inside the SUV, he drove out of the parking lot.
According to the MCSO report, the theft suspect had gone through the self-checkout at the grocery store prior to the theft, and a credit card number was identified that likely belonged to the suspect. Through an investigation, the corporal discovered that the suspect resided on SE 54th Street in Ocklawaha and the suspect also owned a maroon 2018 GMC Acadia SUV.
On Monday, March 14, the corporal arrived at the Ocklawaha residence and was unable to locate the maroon SUV. A man wearing the same blue hat opened the door and greeted the corporal. He was identified as Robert Foster Thomas.
When asked about the SUV, Thomas told the corporal that the vehicle belonged to his relative, and they both used it.
The corporal asked Thomas about the wallet, and he admitted that he took it. He denied using the debit cards and he claimed that there was no cash inside of the wallet. Thomas entered the residence, retrieved the wallet, and handed it to the corporal.
Thomas stated that he has memory issues caused by the prescription medication Xanax. He told the corporal that he could have attempted to use the victim’s debit card in the middle of the night without even realizing it.
He confirmed that he had an account on the website AliExpress. He showed the corporal his account, and the corporal observed a transaction that was declined on February 25 at around 11:24 p.m. The order was for 87 items in the amount of $2,522, and the total did not match the attempted $3,155 fraudulent charge that the victim’s girlfriend had reported.
The corporal observed in the MCSO report that the transaction details did not show the attempted method of payment, or any costs associated with shipping and taxes.
Thomas was arrested, transported to Marion County Jail, and he was later released on $3,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for fraud (illegal use of credit cards – more than two times) and a misdemeanor charge for first degree petit theft (less than $300).
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.