A suspected credit card thief was jailed after taking home a $147 to-go order at Chili’s in The Villages.
Melanie Christine Patterson, 46, of Umatilla, was booked Monday on charges of fraud and theft after she was tracked down by a Lady Lake police officer.
An investigation began after a resident of the Historic Side of The Villages lost his credit card and began seeing fraudulent activity, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
One of the fraudulent charges was a $147 to-go order placed Dec. 27 at Chili’s. A restaurant employee described the woman who picked up the order.
The woman who collected the pickup order at Chili’s fit the description of a woman who that same day used the same credit card to purchase $133 worth of cigarettes at Winn-Dixie at La Plaza Grande. Images of the woman were captured on the store’s surveillance.
There was also a $37.47 purchase at the nearby Bath & Body Works.
Patterson was being held on $9,500 bond at the Lake County Jail.
