 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
The week in reviewCompiled by Times staff writer © St. Petersburg Times, published November 19, 2000 IDENTITY THIEF TRAVELS TO AAA: Detectives thought they had put Elnetta Denise Brown out of business in March when they accused her of obtaining thousands of dollars in bogus credit by stealing identities. But while out on bail and awaiting trial on the fraud charges, the Egypt Lake woman was hired at AAA Auto Club South in Tampa and gained access to AAA's national database, detectives said. Now she stands accused of stealing identities from AAA members. "She was working in the insurance division (of AAA), checking people's backgrounds," Hillsborough sheriff's Detective Skip Pask said, "and writing down names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers on scrap pieces of paper and taking them home." Pask said Brown filled out an application that asked whether she had been convicted of a crime in the past five years. "The operative word here was "convicted,' " Pask said. "She was charged, but not sentenced yet. Evidently, they did not pick up on the arrest with a background check." For references, he said, Brown used accomplices in prior scams. Pask said Brown, 29, was using the auto club information to open lines of credit at stores such as JC Penney and Target, where she would buy gift certificates and then sell them inside malls at half-price. "She would pose as someone working for the store, doing a promotion," he said. Surveillance video taken inside University Mall on E Fowler Avenue was studied, Pask said, and clerks inside JCPenney called deputies after recognizing Brown when she tried to purchase more gift certificates. She was arrested at the mall on Nov. 9. In March, detectives said Brown had lived off bogus credit for four years. She pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced to 14 years of probation, restitution and court costs. For now, Brown is charged with eight counts of grand theft, two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, two counts of organized fraud, two counts of fraudulent use of personal identification and with violating probation. POT FOUND IN ERNIE HAIRE RENTAL: When repairs on Terri Wilson's Ford Explorer Sport Track weren't completed Tuesday afternoon, she accepted the dealer's offer of a complimentary rental car. She filled out the paperwork for the 2000 Ford Focus while still in the mechanic shop at Ernie Haire Ford on N Florida Avenue. But before she put the key in the ignition and drove away, she opened the glove compartment and a pungent odor almost knocked her down. Inside, Wilson and her family found a purple Crown Royal scotch bag filled with marijuana, rolling papers and two ceramic pipes with pot residue. They asked for a manager at Ernie Haire, who called Tampa police. For their trouble, the general manager at Ernie Haire Ford offered the Wilsons a free oil change. TWO ARRESTED AFTER BODY FOUND IN TOWN 'N COUNTRY: Two men were charged Thursday in the murder of an 18-year-old Riverview youth whose body was found a day earlier in Town 'N Country. Deputies said the teenager was killed during a drug deal. Sheriff's spokesman Rod Reder said the killing occurred somewhere inside city limits. On Wednesday at about 1 a.m., Reder said, Ricardo Vasquez met 29-year-old Robert Emilio Medina and 22-year-old Jesse Del Real, both of Tampa. During a drug deal, Medina shot Vasquez in the face, officials said. His body was found at the dead end of Forrestvale Lane, partly hidden under some brush. A nearby resident discovered the body later Wednesday while walking his dog. Reder said homicide detectives were led to Medina by an informant. A third man, 29-year-old Russell Lee Howard of Brandon, was found at Del Real's home and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony. Reder said the gun in question was a 9mm stolen in Pasco County, and that ballistic tests would determine whether it had been used to kill the 18-year-old. All three men are being held without bail.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times |
