Crime & Safety

Five St. Pete Residents Charged in Sarasota Merchandise Scheme

According to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office five St. Pete residents have been arrested in a scheme to steal nearly $11,000 in merchandise from a Sarasota store on Monday.

Five St. Petersburg residents have been arrested in Sarasota County in an alleged scheme to steal nearly $11,000 in merchandise from a store in Sarasota on Monday. 

The five suspects, Jermell Ford, Wanda Douglass, Terron Gland, DeJuan Poole and Gavarian Sampson, were charged with scheme to defraud, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

The group was trying to use a RushCard Visa card to make the sizable purchase at Look at Me Now Urban Wear on 17th Street in Sarasota, a news release said.

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When the transaction could not be processed as a debit, it was also attempted as a credit. When that also failed the female suspect pretended to call the bank, and the alleged bank representative gave the clerk permission to run the card “offline.”

According to the Sheriff's Office, the clerk then recalled a scam alert that detailed a similar crime and stalled the suspects until deputies arrived.

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Responding deputies found two men in a waiting vehicle, one at the store entrance and two inside. They also determined that the person pretending to be the bank official was actually one of the men in the car.

According to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, Poole faces one additional charge for possession of Marijuana.

All of the suspects have prior arrests in Pinellas County for a range of crimes, including Aggravated Battery, Grand Theft and Burglary.

Arrested Suspects

  • Wanda Douglass, 2111 13th St. S, St. Petersburg
  • Jermell Ford, 790 27th Ave. S, St. Petersburg
  • Terron Gland, 5505 4th Ave. N., St. Petersburg
  • DeJuan Poole; 2161 8th Ave N, St. Petersburg and
  • Gavarian Sampson, 1414 20 Ave. S, St. Petersburg


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