A 25-year-old De Soto man received his just rewards after allegedly using a stolen debit card and rewards card to buy items at the Auto Zone in De Soto on Saturday (Feb. 11), said Capt. Mike McMunn of the De Soto Police Department.
The incident began at 2:45 p.m. that day when a woman called De Soto Police to see if anyone had turned in her missing wallet, McMunn said.
“She said she lost it in the area of Dollar General. Later she called back and reported the bank called to tell her there was activity on her card at Auto Zone and Dollar General,” McMunn said.
Police went to the Auto Zone at 1889 Rock Road and allegedly learned that the man not only had used a debit card but also a relative’s rewards card to buy items at the store. The relative had the same last name as the suspect and the card provided a contact number, McMunn said.
He said police reviewed surveillance footage from the Auto Zone store and identified the suspect.
“He was a very familiar subject,” McMunn said.
At 8:52 p.m., the suspect was arrested after Auto Zone employees called police to report that the man had returned to the store and was attempting to exchange the items he purchased earlier in the day for cash, McMunn said.
Police arrived and the man was taken into custody, questioned about the incident and allegedly “admitted to using the debit card in two different locations,” McMunn said.
The merchandise he “purchased” from the Dollar General store was worth $164, and the value of merchandise from the Auto Zone was $253, McMunn said.
The suspect already was wanted on outstanding warrants, and today (Feb. 14) he was being held at the De Soto Jail on unrelated warrants. De Soto Police will seek charges against the man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for fraudulent use of a credit device. As of today, however, no charges had been filed, McMunn said.