TERRELL, Texas — An early morning shopping spree alerted an off-duty Terrell Police Department officer of possible fraudulent credit card use which, upon further investigation, led to the arrest of three men.
TERRELL, Texas — An early morning shopping spree alerted an off-duty Terrell Police Department officer of possible fraudulent credit card use which, upon further investigation, led to the arrest of three men.
At approximately 1:40 a.m., on June 17, 2018, a Terrell Police Department officer was working off-duty security at Buc-ee's when he observed a young black male attempting to purchase $500 worth of merchandise, according to Terrell Police Department spokesperson A.D. Sansom.
The man, identified as 22-year-old Oladipupo Francis Omagbemi of Forney, Texas, was attempting to use a credit card to purchase the merchandise however, the card was declined. Omagbemi removed some of the items to bring the total to $400 but was again declined.
Omagbemi attempted to find another credit card and advised he would need to check his car, exited the store, and entered a maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee and left the parking lot.
The officer ran a check of the Cherokee's license plate and discovered it was displaying false plates.
On the morning of June 18, 2018, the officer was notified Omagbemi was inside the store again and had made two fraudulent purchase and, when he attempted a third, was declined. The credit card had Omagbemi's name on it but, when ran, displayed another parties' account information.
The officer spoke with Buc-ee's management around 5:30 in reference to the fraudulent purchases. Moments after leaving, the officer was again notified that Omagbemi had returned to the store and was attempting to make another large purchase.
The officer arrived in time to see Omagbemi exit the store and walk toward the gas pumps where he met with two other black males. As they walked to a tan Toyota, the officer made investigative contact.
"The investigation revealed multiple fraudulent cards and a large amount of merchandise," stated Sansom.
Omagbemi and 29-year-old Bryant Puryis of Lewisville, Texas, were both arrested on outstanding warrants as well as charges for forgery of a financial instrument. 19-year-old Keland Burel of Carrollton, Texas, was also arrested and charged with forgery of a financial instrument.
Sansom says all three suspects' names were found on the fraudulent credit cards. In total, they were found to be in possession of 26 credit cards — 24 of which were fraudulent.