A certified nursing assistant who is suspected of stealing the credit card of a patient at Villages Rehab has been taken into custody.
The Lady Lake Police Department issued a bulletin Thursday asking for the public’s help in the search for the woman believed to have stolen a credit card from an 81-year-old patient at the rehabilitation facility on County Road 466.
Constance M. Perkins, 31, of Ocala, was taken into custody Thursday night on warrants charging her with exploitation of the elderly, grand theft and criminal use of personal identification information. She was booked at the Marion County Jail on $6,000 bond.
She will be extradited to Lake County.
The victim had been admitted at Villages Rehab on County Road 466 in early February. She was very sedated at the time of her arrival, but she remembered a woman entering her room, asking her for her maiden name and then leaving the room quickly, according to an investigative report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
The patient’s daughter reported that the woman’s credit card was missing and then started noticing odd purchases on the card. Purchases were made at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Ocala, Hungry Howie’s in Lady Lake, Arby’s, RaceTrac, justbats.com, Rack Room Shoes and Edible Arrangements.
A Villages Rehab supervisor told police that Perkins might be a suspect. An employee told police that she believed Perkins was part of a credit card ring. Villages Rehab personnel also pointed out that Perkins was an enthusiastic softball player and police were able to trace an email address Perkins used for the justbats.com purchase. A Hungry Howie’s manager told police that a delivery paid for with the stolen credit card had been delivered to Villages Rehab. The Hungry Howie’s delivery driver confirmed the pizza had been delivered to Perkins.
Perkins apparently stopped showing up for work when she became aware of the investigation.
