Woman accused of stealing ATM card, making withdrawal, returning card

RACINE (WITI) -- A 32-year-old Racine woman faces charges for allegedly stealing a family friend's ATM card, making a withdrawal, and then returning the card.

Ardie Thomas faces three counts of felony personal ID theft - financial gain and three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.

A criminal complaint in the case says officers responded to the 2100 block of Crown Point Drive in the Village of Caledonia, in reference to a theft/ID theft.

The complaint says Thomas was present at the scene.

Officials spoke with a woman, who said that on February 18th, she was helping her daughter box up her home for an upcoming move. Then, on February 28th, the two had Thomas, a mutual friend, come over to help them pack up, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Thomas spent time with the two women from about 4:00 p.m to about 8:00 p.m.

During that time, the complaint says the woman told officials she placed her small credit card wallet into her black leather purse, which she placed in an inside zipper pocket.

The complaint says around 9:00 p.m., the woman noticed her credit card wallet was missing from the zipper pocket.

The complaint says the woman called her credit card companies and advised them of the missing cards -- but her Guaranty Bank debit card number was no longer in service to call in missing -- and she had to wait until February 19th to cancel the card in person at the bank.

The complaint says that when the woman checked her online banking information, she observed non-authorized transactions that occurred on February 18th and 19th.

According to the complaint, later on February 19th, Thomas showed up at the Crowne Point residence, instead of meeting back at his daughter's residence on South Street.

The complaint says Thomas was let into the residence, and the woman and her daughter got ready to head over to the South Street residence to continue packing up.

During this time, the woman says her purse was on the kitchen table, in plain view, and after a short time, the complaint says the woman noticed her credit card wallet had been placed back into her purse.

That's when the woman contacted police.

The complaint says Guaranty Bank records showed a rejected transaction dated February 18th for $502.50 at the Community State Bank on Washington Avenue. Right afterwards, the complaint says there was a transaction at the same location for $402.50 -- where $400 in cash was given, and a $2.50 service charge was added.

The complaint says there was a balance account checked at the same bank for a bank charge of $12.50. Shortly afterwards, there was an attempt to withdraw $200 with a $2.50 service fee, but this transaction was rejected due to over limits for the day.

On February 19th at 5:00 a.m., a $400 withdrawal was made at the Guaranty Bank on Regency West Drive, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Thomas' purse was searched, during which time police found two separate wads of $20 -- each containing $400. According to the complaint, Thomas told officials she didn't know where the money came from.