Dandrick Legardye, 44, of Flint, Mich., has been charged for allegedly using a card-reading device in a scam at Walmart, 131 Eureka Towne Center Drive, in Eureka, court records show. The probable-cause statement in the case said investigators believe he used the same scam at Walmarts across the country.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Legardye on May 22 with stealing, a class D felony that carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison. He also was charged on May 15 for felony stealing in Phelps County following an April arrest by Rolla Police, according to court documents.
Legardye allegedly was seen in surveillance video on May 3 executing the scam at the Eureka Walmart. He allegedly stole $1,134.57 from the store, the probable-cause statement said.
Legardye appeared to be scouting for an inexperienced cashier before choosing an aisle and ringing up $659 in merchandise, according to the report.
He then reportedly inserted a credit card into the aisle’s credit-reading device and told the cashier that he was getting a message that there was an error reading the card and to ring up the transaction as cash. He allegedly was seen in the surveillance video leaning over the counter and telling the cashier to press the register’s cash button, the report said.
When the cashier pressed the cash button, no money was transferred from the card Legardye was using, but a receipt was printed, according to the report.
After that fake transaction, Legardye had the cashier ring up a $475 gift card, and he again said the card-reading device was displaying a message to press the cash button on the register. When the cashier hit the cash button, the transaction went through but nothing was charged to the card again because it was recorded as a cash purchase, the report said.
Legardye was arrested in a Walmart store in Rolla on May 4 when he allegedly tried to return the items he purchased in Eureka. He also allegedly attempted to use a checkout lane’s card-reading device to run a similar scam, according to the report.
Court records show Legardye posted a $25,000 surety bond in Phelps County, and he is scheduled to appear in court there on June 4. There is no court date set for St. Louis County.
Eureka Police Capt. Michael Werges said the case has been forwarded to Homeland Security for further investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for possible charges.