A Marion County sheriff’s K-9 deputy apprehended two men who tried to go on a Wal-Mart shopping spree with the credit cards of a 90-year-old Spruce Creek South woman.
Deputies were dispatched Saturday to a home located in the 17700 block of SE 108th Avenue to a report of a burglary. A woman reported her purse had been taken from her bedroom while she was sleeping. The purse had contained $160 in cash, the woman’s phone, two credit cards and her driver’s license.
It was soon discovered that someone had attempted to use the credit cards at two different Wal-Mart stores in Marion County.
A detective made contact with the stores’ loss prevention officers and obtained surveillance photos of the suspects and relayed the photos and a description of their vehicle to fellow deputies.
K9 Deputy Brandon Donahue spotted the suspects’ white van traveling north on U.S. Hwy. 441.
He initiated a traffic stop and took into custody 56-year-old Preston Jay Barkwell and 43-year-old Renney Alexan Hardley.
Both are facing charges of occupied burglary, grand theft, grand theft of a dwelling, and fraudulent use of a credit card.