Arkansas man allegedly tries to pay waitress with her own stolen credit card
Police say Shamon West, 21, stole a woman’s purse, along with her credit card.
An Arkansas man was taken into custody on Tuesday after he attempted to pay for a meal with a stolen credit card that ended up belonging to his waitress, authorities said.
Police said Shamon West, 21, stole the woman's purse, along with her credit cards and driver’s license, on Sunday when he allegedly broke into her car at a gas station in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, about 44 miles south of Little Rock.
Police arrested West at a restaurant, about two blocks away from where the robbery happened, on Tuesday after the victim, Flora Lunsford, went to close out his bill and noticed her own name on the credit card, according to a statement.
She immediately notified police, who arrested him after finding the victim’s driver’s license, social security card and other credit cards in his possession.
Police obtained surveillance video from the gas station that showed the suspect entering Lunsford's vehicle just moments after she parked her car and went inside the convenience store, according to ABC affiliate KATV.
The video allegedly shows West as he exits the vehicle with the purse and gets back into his car, without paying for gas, KATV reported.
Investigators said they were baffled by the entire situation.
"As a side note, the driver’s license, as all do, had her picture on it," a spokesperson for the Pine Bluff Police Department noted, according to KATV. "Therefore, you would think he should have known what she looked like. Yet, he still handed her own credit card to her."
West faces charges of theft by receiving and forgery, court records show. He was being held at the Jefferson County jail on a $2,840 bond.
It wasn’t immediately clear if he had obtained an attorney as of early Thursday.