A Marathon man was arrested on Thursday after an investigation revealed he had been using stolen credit cards at several businesses.
Oreste Medina, 51, was charged with petit theft and two counts of illegal use of a credit card.
An investigation into the matter started on Sept. 25, when the victim met with Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies to report his cards stolen. According to the report, the victim lost his wallet several days prior, and quickly began receiving fraud alerts from his bank.
Detectives assigned to the case began collecting evidence, including bank information, security footage and statements from clerks. Their investigation revealed that Medina used the two cards in four transactions, for a total of $224.45, and Medina was caught on camera for three of the four transactions. Furthermore, a witness confirmed Medina was the one using the cards. The majority of the purchases were for tobacco and alcohol products.
According to the report, detectives met with Medina, who admitted to using the cards. He said that a couple gave him both cards as a way of paying him for helping them change a boat trailer tire. The victim reported being at the same boat ramp that day, and believes that is where the wallet was lost.
Medina was arrested and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center, where he was being held on a $6,500 bond.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.