A Florida burglar flipped the script on his robbery victims after he broke into their Lauderhill home and found a treasure trove of evidence in plain sight, pointing to a much larger crime than the home invasion underway.
Upon arrest for burglarizing the residence, the unnamed criminal confessed to his crime of breaking and entering into the home of 27-year-old Eric Jermaine Spivey and 38-year-old Chenequa Austin, but he told police that there was something sinister going on in the home. He believed fake credit cards were being manufactured, according to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel.
Having provided sufficient information to cause suspicion that what the criminal said had some truth behind it, a detective and a U.S. Secret Service agent went to investigate the burglarized residence. Gaining entrance into the home was easy enough, as the authorities were able to say they were there to investigate the residence for the burglary that had taken place. In actuality, they were acting on the criminal’s report from two days prior that indicated there was a multifaceted crime operation taking place.
Since they’re running a home-based identity theft and fraud scheme, and police were knocking at their door, the couple could have benefited from a little tidying up. Thankfully their oversight made it easy to bring about justice and prevent more victims from being financially taken by these people.
“Chenequa Austin brought me through the residence to identify the path of the burglar,” Jason Lanfersiek, the Secret Service agent described in a court document regarding the investigation. “While inside the home, I immediately noticed, in plain view, numerous gift cards, debit cards, credit cards, and prepaid stored value cards readily apparent in various locations in the residence.”
Also visible, inside an open closet, was a card embossing machine used to manufacture credit and debit cards, Lanfersiek added in his report. After everything was gathered and recorded, authorities confiscated 314 credit cards, gift cards and pre-paid debit cards, which had likely been used to purchase designer clothing, jewelry, flat screen TVs, Sony PlayStation 4s, and Apple iPads, which were also found in the home. Many of those high-priced items were brand new and still in the original packaging, the Sun-Sentinel noted.
But the trouble for Spivey didn’t stop there. One man’s crime had led to a couple’s crime, and now the evidence indicated a third that could ultimately land the fraudster behind bars for a very long time. Investigators uncovered a Glock 19 handgun, which ballistic test came back showing it had been used in an attempted second-degree murder case that was filed against Spivey by Miami-Dade County, Florida, involving a domestic dispute with an ex-girlfriend.
With so much obvious evidence, Spivey and Austin were taken into custody, but that still didn’t stop each from pleading not guilty this week to aggravated identity theft, fraud, and conspiracy charges. Spivey was released from custody on $35,000 bond, but Austin is still being detained after a judge declared her to be a flight risk.
Karma has a mysterious way of sneaking around and smacking people in the face. The couple had robbed hundreds of people and businesses, but when the tables turned on them, it brought about justice for all the victims they had created through their elaborate scheme.
The truth always makes its way to the surface, and if you’re acting shady it’s going to get found out in one way or another.