A 29-year-old Fredericktown man has been arrested for allegedly stealing a phone that belonged to an employee at the Denny’s restaurant, 1203 Drury Lane, in Arnold. The phone was worth $899, Arnold Police reported.
The victim, a 48-year-old Bonne Terre woman, told police her Samsung Z3 flip phone was stolen from a booth between about 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. May 9. She said she had left it in the booth when she went to wait on customers at another table, the report said.
On May 11, the alleged victim learned the man suspected of stealing the phone reportedly was using her PayPal account, an online payment system, to make purchases at the Walmart in Fredericktown. Officers found the man in the store, and he allegedly had the stolen phone and had accessed the payment app to purchase items, according to the report.
The man was taken to the Fredericktown Police Station, where he allegedly confessed to stealing the phone. He was released pending application for warrants. Arnold Police will seek a felony stealing charge against the man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Detective Lt. Jeremy Christopher said.