According to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, two individuals from Ohio have been apprehended for utilizing a stolen credit card in order to purchase lottery tickets.
According to court documents, on October 6th, two men walked into the Speedee Mart located on East Omaha Avenue in Norfolk at 9 p.m. Their intention was to buy a substantial amount of Nebraska lottery tickets. To do so, the younger man utilized a spreadsheet on his phone and requested the clerk to manually input card numbers. After a few tries, they managed to successfully purchase $990 worth of lottery tickets with one card.
The clerk didn’t bother asking for identification, and the men simply walked out of the store after some questioning. The store manager took a look at the security footage and noticed that the suspects had driven away in a red or orange Dodge Durango, completely devoid of license plates. To alert other stores about the incident, a post was shared on Facebook.
According to reports, on October 7, the two individuals were spotted at The Grove gas station in Newman Grove around 1:20 p.m. Their intention was to buy $400 worth of lottery tickets. However, the staff, who had been made aware of the situation through a Facebook post, refused the sale. Undeterred, the men then attempted to purchase gasoline using cash, which caught the attention of a customer at the gas station. Concerned, the customer promptly notified the authorities about the suspicious activity.
Law enforcement officers pulled over the Durango near Highway 32 and 545 Avenue, where a deputy immediately detected the distinct smell of marijuana. A thorough search of the vehicle revealed approximately 21 bottles of tequila cleverly concealed inside Super Saver bags, along with a small quantity of marijuana. Interestingly, two individuals were found to be carrying a total of $1,500 in cash in their pockets.
The sheriff’s office made an additional discovery when they located the plates of the vehicle and confirmed that it was actually a rental from Ohio. Following this revelation, law enforcement officials proceeded to arrest three individuals who were then transported to Madison County Jail. The individuals in question were identified as Rhynell Folds, aged 20, Keith Johnson, aged 22, and an unnamed 19-year-old male.
Folds faced charges of conspiracy to commit a class-four felony and criminal possession of a financial transaction device, whereas Johnson faced charges of conspiracy to commit a class-four felony.
The bonds for both individuals were set at 10% of $50,000. Folds is scheduled to appear in court again on November 19th.
