A Fruitland Park woman was arrested Monday after she reportedly used a stolen credit card to check into a motel and purchase items at two stores.
Megan Nicole Blackmon, 33, of 36851 Wilmington Road, was charged with three counts of ID theft and single counts of fraudulent use of a credit card ($100 or more) and scheme to defraud (less than $20,000).
A Leesburg police officer responded to the Quality Inn and Suites, 1392 W. North Blvd, after receiving a report of fraud. The victim told the officer that she was advised by text by her credit card company that her lost credit card had been used recently by someone else. She said she reported the card as lost to the company about two months prior, according to the police report.
The victim said she disputed the charges and reported the card as stolen. She also retrieved a list of the most recent transaction and found that the latest one had been processed at the Quality Inn. The victim spoke with a hotel employee who told her the two people who rented the room using her card number were still at the hotel, the report said.
The victim said the other transactions that day were $4.27 at Wawa and $30.25 at CVS. After speaking with the victim, the officer spoke with the hotel employee, who confirmed the victim’s statement and clarified that the female who used the card was still in the room. The employee gave the officer permission to enter the room if needed along with a master key, according to the report.
The officer knocked on the door of the room and Blackmon opened it and came out. Once the officer confirmed Blackmon was the same female who used the card in the video, he detained her in the hallway. During an initial search of Blackmon, the officer found a receipt from Wawa for the fraudulent $4.27 transaction. Blackmon told the officer she found the credit card in a purse she had purchased, the report said.
Camera footage from the hotel and the two stores confirmed Blackmon conducted the transactions at all three locations. After being read her Miranda warning, Blackmon said she used a card ending in 2171 but claimed it was her card. She said she gave it to her ex-boyfriend before the officer arrived, according to the report.
Blackmon also acknowledged she used someone else’s ID to book the hotel room. The officer was unable to contact the owner of the ID, the report said.
Blackmon was booked at the Leesburg Police Department and taken to the Lake County Jail, where she’s being held on $10,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Sept. 27.
