(Forestville, MD) -- Maryland State Police have charged a Prince George’s County teenager with using a stolen debit card number to purchase items ranging from wigs to a night on the town, in an ongoing investigation that has turned up scores of credit cards and a computer with a magnetic reader and writer in the teen’s home.
The accused is identified as Rasheed A. Adedokun, 19, of the 5100-block of Upshur Drive, Bladensburg, Md. He is charged at this time with five counts of unlawful use of a payment device number and one count of theft over $500. He is currently being held in the Prince George’s County Detention Center on $250,000 bond.
The investigation began in mid-May 2009, when a woman contacted a trooper at the Forestville Barracks and said her debit card had been cancelled by her bank due to a high number of weekend transactions that were unusual for her. Her debit card number had been used at the emissions testing station, a restaurant, a beauty shop, a nightclub and a department store.
The road patrol trooper from the Forestville Barracks began in immediate investigation that led to witness and video identification of the accused as the individual using the victim’s debit card number during that weekend in May. The accused paid for a vehicle emissions test, bought two female wigs, obtained a meal at a popular restaurant, purchased a guitar, some underwear, and finished up with a $650 tab at a nightclub where he had partied with friends.
Evidence obtained during the investigation led to troopers obtaining an arrest warrant for the accused and a search warrant for the residence where he lives with other tenants. Troopers served the warrants yesterday and arrested Adedokun at his home. Troopers recovered a computer with a magnetic reader/writer, more than 80 credit cards, and electronic files believed to contain names, social security numbers and other information about individuals that would be used to produce additional fraudulent credit/debit cards.
Troopers also recovered a number of new items that are believed to have been purchased with other fraudulent cards. Items included two large flat-screen televisions, a DVD player, a Honda lawn mower, and a weed-trimmer.
This investigation is continuing. Troopers have already been in contact with the U.S. Postal Service Inspector’s Office and other law enforcement agencies about this ongoing case.
If this started in May--why did it take until August to make an arrest?? How many people's identity got stolen due to the long time it took to arrest him?
ReplyDeleteUmm It isnt' an over the night thing. First of all you have to find out who the person is which in some case you may never do. Just cause u go to a place where the card was used doesn't mean you will know who it is. All u will get is a face. How long would it have taken you to make an arrest? Lets see if you can do a better job. Its make me sick to see citizens like you complain when a fine Trooper works hard and makes an arrest. You people forget he worked the road while having to work on this case. Going to calls for service. 3 months is not a long time to make an arrest in a case like this when a lot of them never get solved or a suspect is never arrested. THIS WAS AMAZING POLICE WORK AND A JOB WILL DONE FOR THE STATE POLICE FORESTVILLE BARRACK!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis all happened because the young man in question had too much time on his hands.
ReplyDelete