BOISE, Idaho — Boise police say two women from Philadelphia have been arrested after purchasing thousands of dollars in gift cards with stolen credit cards.
It all started Tuesday afternoon. Members of the Boise Police Department’s Organized Retail Crime Unit were alerted to possible fraudulent charges being made at several retail stores in the Boise area.
According to reports, two women were making high-value gift card purchases at multiple stores. They acted suspiciously and fled when clerks asked them to show ID that the credit card being used belonged to them.
Officers reached out to members of the Organized Retail Crime Association of Idaho and got word that two women matching the suspects’ description were at a store on the 7900 block of Overland Road.
When officers arrived on the scene, they located one of the women, identified as 25-year-old Miara Armstead. She was taken into custody.
A second suspect got into a car and tried to elude police. Police say the woman backed into a marked police car while also hitting a parked car. She then drove through a landscaping bed and sped away. The vehicle was found a short time later at a gas station on Airport Way.
The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Danielle Taylor, failed to comply with commands from officers and was taken into custody after a brief struggle.
Upon further investigation, police say the two women flew to Boise on Tuesday morning with the intent of committing these crimes.
They were found to be in possession of five credit cards that did not belong to them. The actual credit card holders were contacted, and police say it appears the cards were stolen from the victims at two local restaurants around noon.
Police say the two women used the credits to purchase at least $11,000.00 in gift cards at multiple stores in the Boise area.
Taylor had warrants out of New York, New Jersey, California, and Florida for similar crimes.
Armstead and Taylor were both booked into to the Ada County Jail.
Armstead is charged with three counts of felony burglary, and five felony counts of possessing false, expired or fraudulently obtained financial transaction card with intent to defraud.
Taylor is charged with acquiring a financial transaction card with intent to defraud, burglary, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer in a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, resisting or obstructing officers, and four counts fugitive to Idaho.
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