The Starkville Police Department is searching for a woman suspected of using a Missouri woman”s debit card last month to purchase items at Wal-Mart on Highway 12 West.
The incident occurred the evening of Jan. 31 when a black female with two small children purchased a flat-screen television, several Nintendo Wii games and multiple iTunes gift cards, Starkville Police Department Detective Landon Stamps said. He did not disclose the amount of charges the suspect put on the victim”s debit card.
The suspect first tried to use a different credit or debit card to make the purchases, but the card was rejected, Stamps said. It was only then when the suspect used the duplicate debit card, which can be obtained from a bank if a person says their original is lost, belonging to the woman from Missouri, he said.
“The problem we”ve got is our victim is from out of state,” Stamps said. “She”s never even been to Starkville. She didn”t even know where Starkville was. She has no idea how this (suspect) got a duplicate debit card.”
Police released security camera photos of the suspect walking out of Wal-Mart with a TV in her cart and the two children in tow, but she kept the hood of her white jacket on throughout her time in the store and no clear images of her face were available. Police also released an image of a dark, four-door vehicle exiting the Wal-Mart parking lot believed to have been driven by the suspect.
Anyone with information is asked to call Starkville police at 662-323-4131 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 1-800-570-7151.
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