Busted: A Trio Armed With a Wallet Full of Stolen Credit Cards

It wasn't a particularly good idea to go shopping at a Radio Shack with a wallet full of what Greenwich Police say were stolen credit cards.

What also wasn't on the side of the trio of men who were trying to make a purchase at the Riverside Commons store on Saturday morning is that employees have been especially alert since Radio Shack stores have been targeted by people posing as shoppers using stolen or fake credit cards or who have dupulicate security keys to open locked display cases.

So when a trio of men went into the 1265 E. Putnam Ave. store about 11:30 a.m. April 5 to make a purchase, employees called Greenwich Police. The men apparently were trying to use two credit cards that were suspected of being stolen to make a purchase, according to police.

When officers arrived, they confronted the men, one of whom struggled and resisted arrest, according to the report. Police used a Taser on Daniel Simeone, 22, of Queens, NY, but he was able to pull out the Taser wires and flee, leading officers on a foot pursuit. He was caught a short distance away. 

Meanwhile, a suspect also bolted from the store leading to a second foot chase. Rondon Bernard, 24, also of Queens, was found hiding inside the men's room of the McDonald's restaurant at 1207 E. Putnam Ave., according to police. Police said they recovered a wallet with eight fraudulent debit and credit cards that Bernard allegedly tossed beneath a car as he ran from police.

The third suspect, Keion C. Medrano, 22, of Jamaica, NY, was arrested inside the store.

Each of the suspects was charged with two counts each of fifth-degree larceny, illegal use of a credit card and criminal impersonation; and eight counts each of credit card theft, third-degree identity theft and unlawful completion or reproduction of credit card.

Rondon also was charged with interfering with police. Simeon was also charged with assault on a police officer and interfering with police. 

Medrano was released after posting $10,000 bond and scheduled to appear April 14 in state Superior Court in Stamford. Simeon couldn't post $25,000 bond and Bernard was unable to post $10,000 bond. The pair were to be arraigned in court on April 7.

Greenwich Police spokesman Lt. Kraig Gray said, "There's been a lot of activities at Radio Shacks not only in our jurisdiction but surrounding towns. We are investigating any possible links to the crimes." He said the case is now being investigated by the detective bureau.

The unidentified officer suffered an unspecified minor injury and was treated and released from Greenwich Hospital, police said.