By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office investigators have arrested three persons in a felony credit card scheme after they purchased more than $4,700 worth of merchandise from a local store.
VVSO Sgt. Shaun Davis, of the sheriff’s office criminal investigations division, said the arrested persons include Hilda Flores, 33, 1275 FM 2523; Juan Zárate Cadena, 27, a resident of Ciudad Acuña, Coah., Mexico; and Luis Felipe Zárate Cadena, 33, a resident of Ciudad Acuña, Coah., Mexico.
Flores was arrested at her apartment in the Villas de Val Verde at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 9, and the two men were arrested following a VVSO traffic stop at U.S. Highway 90 and Farm-to-Market 2523, Davis told the 830 Times in a recent interview.
Each of the three arrested persons were charged with the offense of credit/debit card abuse, a state jail felony
Davis said he was notified by CID Lt. Gina Garcia about 1 p.m. on Aug. 3 that the owner of Del Rio Feed & Supply, Justin Nulisch, had called Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez and asked the sheriff’s office to investigate a possible incident of credit/debit card abuse that had allegedly occurred at the business, located at 111 E. Gibbs St.
“I went to Del Rio Feed & Supply and made contact with the sales associate and the owner, and the two of them went over with me the details of three separate credit card transactions that had occurred on three different days,” Davis said.
The first transaction was for a total of $703, the second transaction was for $1,986, and the third was for $2,029. Davis said the three transactions occurred on July 18, July 24 and July 29.
“The bulk of the purchases were 11 Yeti coolers, and there were also four pairs of Hey Dude brand shoes and other items,” the investigator added.
Davis said Nulisch called the sheriff’s office because the first charge was disputed, and the other two charges were disputed the following day.
“So with all three charges disputed, that initiated the investigation,” Davis said.
Davis said he reviewed surveillance video footage from the store and was able to identify two vehicles associated with persons who made the three disputed transactions.
“There were two male subjects and a female subject who had gone into the store to get the merchandise,” the investigator said.
He said his investigation showed both vehicles in the video were registered to Flores.
“Once I found that, I was able to find an address for Flores,” Davis said.
Davis said he and other investigators were also able to identify the two men involved in the incidents and to obtain arrest warrants for the trio.
“We established a surveillance at the Villas de Val Verde, where both of the vehicles involved in the incidents were located. One of the vehicles left, and VVSO Sgt. Julio DeHoyos was able to conduct a traffic stop on it at U.S. Highway 90 East at the intersection of FM 2523, and the two men were inside the vehicle,” Davis said.
Davis said after the arrests, investigators were able to recover four of the 11 Yeti coolers that had been illicitly purchased, all four pairs of Hey Dude shoes, one pair of Ariat women’s shoes, one of two belts, and a hat.
Davis said his investigation into the case is ongoing.
“This investigation was very much a team effort, and not just this agency, but others helping out with information and details. Our patrol division and CID from the supervisor level to Investigator Mario Vargas helping out with translating and interviewing and patrol for taking the suspects into custody and transporting, including Sgt. Julio DeHoyos, Victor Castaneda, Javier Velasquez, Juan Garza, Nathan Sanchez, and the CID Supervisor, Lt. Gina Garcia.
“I think it’s also important to let the public and businesses know to use caution when using or accepting credit cards for purchases. They really need to confirm that the credit card matches the buyer’s identification. The cardholder name should match that on the buyer’s ID and that should match the person in front of them. If you think it’s suspicious, it’s probably suspicious,” Davis said.
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