Castle Hills, TX: Suspected credit card thief sought by police after $16,300 in illegal purchases
A suspected credit card thief caught on surveillance video is being sought by Castle Hills Police after allegedly making $16,300 in illegal purchases in four days, from late February to early March. Police Chief Wayne Davis said by allegedly using that one stolen credit card, "We've had a minimum of 24 illegal purchases from Target to O'Reilly's, Home Depot, Best Buy and Walmart. ksat.com

Omaha, NE: Nearly $18K worth of snakes, rats taken from Pet store
Surveillance video shows a burglary being committed at Bart's Exotic Pets early Friday. The intruder collected eight ball pythons, including one valued at $5,000, in a little more than a minute and a half. The suspect also stole $1,500 in frozen rats. Store owner says he believes the thief is a former customer. He intends to press charges. Everson says the ball python is a constrictor snake found in sub-Saharan Africa. Growing from 3 to 5 feet, it's the smallest of the African pythons and is popular in the pet trade because of its typically docile temperament. omaha.com

Queenstown, MD: Warrant issued in $8,000 theft case at Queenstown Premium Outlets
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Siobhan Springer of Nottingham, Md., in connection with fraudulent purchases made March 4 at Queenstown Premium Outlets. Springer is charged with multiple counts of theft under $1,000, theft over $1,000, forgery and identity theft, according to the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office. Purchases were made by the suspect in numerous stores at the Outlets using several fraudulent credit cards, according to Lt. Dale Patrick. "At the St. John's store, an employee requested the woman to provide identification for the purchase of a $1,470 jacket," Patrick said. "Feeling something was amiss, she flagged the transaction and was later able to ID the suspect. When the receipt of the transaction was returned as fraudulent the Sheriff's Office was contacted." Detectives were able to locate additional transactions for merchandise or gift cards at other stores at the Outlets as well as two financial institutions. Victims included Yankee Candle, Kay Jewelers, J. Crew, Polo, Calvin Klein, St. Johns, Coach, Gymboree, NASA Federal Credit Union and USAA Savings. In all, more than $8,000 was charged on the fraudulent cards. myeasternshoremd.com



Vacaville, CA: 2 men make second run at home improvement theft
Two men entered a Vacaville home improvement store Saturday afternoon and stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, according to police. But that wasn't enough. After making a successful getaway, police said the pair returned hours later in a second try at more merchandise. This time a loss prevention agent recognized both and called Vacaville police. dailyrepublic.com


UPDATE: Mistrial declared for former prison officer accused of stealing $100,000 of NASCAR merchandise at Daytona
SShannon Lee Wiggins, 47, of South Daytona who is charged with dealing in stolen property. Wiggins was a major at Tooke Correctional Institution near Daytona Beach and was in charge of hiring corrections officers to work at the Daytona International Speedway until he was arrested in December 2013. Wiggins is accused of stealing a variety of items from a racetrack vendor, including hats, model race cars, clothing and Fan Vision scanners. Wiggins is expected to go on trial Tuesday but faces other trials on grand theft and dealing in stolen property. news-journalonline.com

Ashburn, GA: $30,000 Financial fraud suspects arrested after I-75 stops
Three Chicago women and a Virginia man face credit card fraud charges and remain in jail in two separate cases in Turner County. The women were found with stolen credit cards. The man had tens of thousands of dollars of merchandise, stolen credit card info, and the machine to make the cards. Turner County sheriff Andy Hester demonstrated how thieves print your credit card info on new cards. More than a dozen of these cards are now evidence. "They've probably bought $30,000 worth of merchandise," said Sheriff Hester. That includes four Canon cameras valued at $900, diamond rings valued nearly $5,000, and a whole stack of new apple products. The credit card fraud ring was busted after a traffic stop on I-75 last month. Authorities say that's how most of these cases start. walb.com