JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – A 37-year-old Iowa man faces multiple theft and credit card charges after surveillance footage allegedly tied him to purchases at a Jonesboro gas station and sporting goods store, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Craighead County District Judge David Boling found probable cause Wednesday to charge Matthew Lee Turner, of Sioux City, Iowa, with the following:
- Theft of property, credit or debit cards, a Class D felony
- Theft from a building of less than $1,000, a Class A misdemeanor
- Fraudulent use of a credit card, a Class A misdemeanor
- Criminal attempt, a Class B misdemeanor
Police investigate theft
On May 14, a victim of theft contacted the Jonesboro Police Department. The victim told the officer that her debit and credit cards had been used without her permission at a gas station for $76.27 and a sporting goods store for $830.45, according to the affidavit.
The victim said she searched for the cards and discovered that they were no longer in her wallet, and she believed they may have been stolen from the locker room of a Jonesboro gym her husband had visited May 13.
Investigators contacted the gym, sporting goods store, and gas station to review surveillance footage. The gas station matched the purchase amount to a fuel purchase and found video footage of a man in a black Ram four-door truck using the victim’s credit cards, according to the affidavit.
The sporting goods store also found video of the fraudulent purchase attempt with the same man in the same clothing as the footage from the gas station. Employees said the man had attempted to push a cart full of merchandise out of two fire exits before approaching the register, the affidavit said.
The man then attempted to use the cards to purchase the merchandise, but both cards were declined. The man then fled the business without the merchandise and entered a black Ram truck, the affidavit said.
Police reviewed the gym footage and found the same man there at the same time the victim’s husband was, supporting the initial theft at that location, investigators said.
The gym manager identified the man as Turner and said Turner’s home gym would have more identifying information.
Police executed a search warrant at Turner’s home gym and used his Iowa driver’s license to confirm his identity in the surveillance footage.
A bench warrant was issued May 28 for Turner’s arrest. He was arrested out of state and transported to the Craighead County Detention Center on July 27.
Turner is being held on a $10,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 30.
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