St. John Couple Arrested for Unauthorized Credit Card Use

 

V.I. Police Department officers on St. John arrested two suspects last week after an investigation revealed they made unauthorized purchases with a bank card belonging to someone else.

The suspects, 31-year-old Clint Richard Tetrick also known as Ricky, and Beth Allison Davis, 25, were accused of racking up more than $1,500 at various businesses and were charged with Obtaining Money by False Pretenses.

VIPD officers said the pair, who are from Louisiana and Missouri respectively, bought items at several stores and ate at several restaurants on St. John using the bank card that was not theirs.

They were arrested on Tuesday, February 19, were placed on $35,000 bail each and were remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending further court action.

The two appeared before V.I. Superior Court Judge Kathleen Mackay on Wednesday morning, February 20. Mackay found probable cause to uphold charges against Tetrick, but dropped the charges against Davis due to a lack of probable cause, according to a report in the V.I. Daily News.

Tetrick admitted that he used a card “that was not his,” and told VIPD detectives that Davis knew the card did not belong to him, according to the report.

Davis, however, said she was “unaware” that the bank card did not belong to Tetrick, according to the Daily News report.

The card was lost back in January, when a victim reported to the VIPD that he lost his bank card between Salt Pond Bay and Cinnamon Bay, according to the report.

With no cell phone service that day, the victim reported the card missing to the bank the following day, at which point $1,500 had been racked up in charges, according to the report in the V.I. Daily News.

With a list of stores where the card was used, statements from employees, receipts from three stores and surveillance video from Dolphin Market showing the suspects, VIPD officers arrested the two on February 19.

They were initially held on $35,000 bail. Davis was released on February 20, while Mackay set Tetrick’s bond at $30,000.

VIPD St. John Deputy Chief Maria Colon Jones last week cautioned merchants to always check the IDs of persons using bank cards and credit cards and to verify all signatures.