A brazen thief who waved at a security camera while holding a stolen credit card has been jailed
John Fletcher, 50, was caught when detectives spotted him on supermarket CCTV following reports of thefts from several gyms in Ashford and Eastbourne in January and February.
Fletcher had raided gym locker rooms, stealing £1,000 in cash and spending a further £2,000 on stolen cards.
Kent police studied CCTV footage and found him slipping through the turnstiles to gain access to the locker room area.
An accomplice, Laura McGannan, 35, sometimes distracted staff while he got in.
Further CCTV work showed Fletcher in shops when the cards were used.
A car that officers linked to the offences was stopped near Tunbridge Wells on 24 February, and both Fletcher and McGannan were arrested.
Fletcher, of Bexhill-on-Sea, was charged with six counts of burglary and ten counts of fraud.
He admitted all 16 counts and was jailed for two and a half years at Canterbury Crown Court.
McGannan, of Winchelsea, was given a six-month suspended sentence after admitting five counts of burglary following her role assisting Fletcher.
Motivations and Patterns of the Offender
PC Michael Eeles of the Kent Crime Squad said: “CCTV showed Fletcher waving at a camera while he spent other people’s money at a supermarket.
“I am pleased the quick work of detectives led to him being arrested a few days later, and he is now in prison, unable to further trouble the public.”
A thief who was captured smiling and waving at a security camera whilst using a stolen credit card has been jailed for two and a half years.
Kent Police launched an investigation after receiving several reports of thefts from gyms in Ashford and Eastbourne in January and February of this year. John Fletcher, 50, had been raiding gym locker rooms while people were exercising – stealing £1,000 in cash and spending a further £2,000 on stolen credit cards.
Fletcher seemed to think he had gotten away with the crime – caught on CCTV boldly grinning and waving at the camera, with a stolen credit card visible in his right hand. But police got hold of the footage.
How the Thief was Identified
Officers then studied other footage of Fletcher slipping through turnstiles to gain access to locker room areas, sometimes accompanied by accomplice Laura McCannan, 35, who would distract staff while he snuck inside. They also found further CCTV evidence of Fletcher in other shops where the cards had been used.
A car that police linked to the offences was stopped near Tunbridge Wells on 24 February. Both Fletcher and McGannan were arrested.
Fletcher, from Bexhill-on-Sea, was charged with six counts of burglary and ten counts of fraud. He begged guilty to all counts and was sentenced to two and a half years at Canterbury Crown Court.
McGannan, from Winchelsea, admitted to five counts of burglary. She was given a six-month suspended sentence for her role in assisting Fletcher.
Reasons for the Jail Term
Commenting on the sentencing, PC Michael Eeles of the Kent Crime Squad said: “CCTV showed Fletcher waving at a camera while he spent other people’s money at a supermarket.
“I am pleased the quick work of detectives led to him being arrested a few days later, and he is now in prison, unable to further trouble the public.”
On the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving, Randal Quran Reid was driving his white Jeep to his mother’s home outside Atlanta when he was pulled over on a busy highway. A police officer approached his vehicle and asked for his driver’s license. Mr Reid had left it at home, but he volunteered his name. After asking Mr Reid if he had any weapons, the officer told him to step out of the Jeep and handcuffed him with the help of two other officers who had arrived.
The Crime and its Implications
“What did I do?” Mr. Reid asked. The officer said he had two theft warrants out of Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish, a district on the outskirts of New Orleans. Mr Reid needed clarification; he said he had never been to Louisiana.
Mr Reid, a transportation analyst, was booked at the DeKalb County jail to await extradition from Georgia to Louisiana. It took days to find out exactly what he was citing for using stolen credit cards to buy designer purses.
“I’m locked up for something I have no clue about,” Mr Reid, 29, said.
His parents made phone calls, hired lawyers and spent thousands of dollars determining why the police thought he was responsible for the crime. They eventually discovered it was because Mr Reid resembled a suspect who a surveillance camera had recorded. The case eventually fell apart, and the warrants were recalled only after Mr Reid spent six days in jail and missed a week of work.
