2 Charged In Evanston Identity Thefts
EVANSTON, Ill. (STMW) - Two Chicago women are being held on $100,000 bond each, after allegedly being caught with dozens of fraudulent credit cards and card numbers in Evanston.
Marcella Renee Miles, 34, of the 7100 block of South Parnell Avenue, was charged with 30 counts of felony identity theft, according to Evanston police. Janeen Enise Brown, 31, of the 5700 block of North Ridge Avenue was charged with four counts of identity theft and driving with a suspended license.
The two were arrested after Evanston police responded to a call about 5:15 p.m. Nov. 15 of attempted deceptive practices at Enterprise Car Rental, 1810 Maple Ave., said Cmdr. Tom Guenther, the department's public information officer, in a release.
He said that responding officers learned that a woman attempted to rent a vehicle using a fraudulent credit card that was reserved in another person's name.
When the Enterprise employee began to make further inquires into the legitimacy of the transaction, Guenther said, the suspect became nervous, grabbed the credit card back and fled the store. Enterprise employees then saw woman enter into a white Ford Escape and drive away, he said.
Evanston police then broadcast a description of the suspect and her vehicle and, soon after, a traffic stop was made on the suspected vehicle, Guenther said. He said officers then questioned the two occupants and ran a check on both.
Guenther said the inquiry revealed that the driver, identified as Janeen Enise Brown, had no valid Illinois drivers license, Guenther said.
He said the passenger was identified as Marcella R. Miles. Brown was also identified as the person in the attempted fraudulent use of the credit card, said Guenther.
Officers searched the suspect's vehicle after Brown's arrest and found three credit cards not in the name of either Brown or Miles, he said.
In follow-up interviews, detectives determined that Miles allegedly had 30 different credit card numbers, Guenther said. They also found that Brown had a stolen Illinois drivers license, with credit cards in the name of on the stolen driver's license, he said.
The credit card information included the card numbers, the associated cardholders names, addresses, phone numbers and security numbers, none of which belonged to the arrested individuals, police said.
Detectives followed up with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, which authorized 30 felony counts of identity theft against Marcella R. Miles, 34, of 7120 S. Parnell, Chicago and four felony counts of identity theft against Janeen Enise Brown, 31, of 5793 N. Ridge Apt. 3, Chicago.
The two are scheduled to appear at the Skokie Courthouse on the charges Nov. 30.
--Pioneer Press, via the Sun-Times Media Wire
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
