Three women arrested after using counterfeit credit cards - By anita burke - Mail Tribune - August 4, 2006

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2006-08-13

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Shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday, security officers at Rogue Valley Mall reported that they were chasing two women who had tried to make a purchase at Victoria's Secret with a counterfeit credit card, Medford police said. Security officers also spotted a woman suspected of traveling with the fake credit card users circling the mall parking lot in a PT Cruiser with California license plates. Police found the two women who had fled Victoria's Secret walking near Skipper's on North Riverside Avenue and took them into custody. Both are believed to be from the Los Angeles area, police said. Chiquitha Nicole Taylor, 25, no address listed, was arrested on six counts of identity theft, six counts of possessing a forged instrument, credit card fraud and two counts of second-degree theft. She was lodged in the Jackson County Jail, where she remained Thursday on $215,000 bail. Shavanelle Lynneil Reese, 25, no address listed, was arrested on six counts of identity theft, six counts of possessing a forged instrument, credit card fraud and two counts of second-degree theft. She also was lodged in jail on $215,000 bail. The woman in the car was involved in a minor hit-and-run crash in the mall parking lot and fled. A short time later, two Medford police detectives saw the car near the South Medford I-5 interchange, Medford police Detective Sgt. Tim Doney said. They attempted to stop it on the freeway, but the vehicle sped away to the south. An Ashland officer spotted the car and tried to stop it, but gave up the chase because the car was recklessly speeding. Medford police contacted the California Highway Patrol and asked them to keep an eye out for the speeding vehicle. The highway patrol spotted the car in Siskiyou County and gave chase as it sped down the Siskiyou Pass at speeds of 125 to 130 mph, said CHP officer Seth Jennings. Near Yreka, Jennings and his partner laid down spike strips that punctured the front tires on the fleeing car. The car was still moving at 75 to 80 mph and within two miles, the tires had disintegrated and the car was riding on its rims, Jennings said. Still, the woman driving the car sped southward, shredding the PT Cruiser's metal wheels and recklessly forcing other vehicles off the road, Jennings said. During the pursuit, the woman in the car also threw a paper shredder out the window. Nearly 30 miles from where Jennings deployed the device to puncture the Cruiser's tires, officers finally stopped the car when its wheels ground down to the brake drums near Weed, Calif., police reported. They arrested the driver, Jennifer Mae Collins, 24, of Long Beach, Calif. She was lodged at the Siskiyou County Jail in Yreka on Oregon charges of identity theft and felony attempting to elude police, as well as California charges of felony evading police, grand theft, identity theft and forgery, police reported. Detectives believe the three women traveled from Southern California with counterfeit credit cards. The cards likely were made after skimming information stored on magnetic strips on legitimate credit cards, Doney said. Investigators suspect the three women used the fake credit cards at a number of Medford businesses, including Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works, Gymboree, Circuit City, Sears and TJ Maxx. They likely are part of a criminal group that uses false cards up and down the freeway corridor, moving quickly from city to city before merchants catch on to the scheme, Doney said. "It was just a lucky break when someone here noticed a problem" and police were able to track down the women and their car, he said. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] . Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home  | Local News  | Sports  | Business  | Obituaries  | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives  |  Site Map  | Community  | Classified   Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews