A Leesburg woman was arrested Saturday after stealing Wells Fargo cards from an elderly man’s mailbox and using them to buy dog food.
Angelina Bell Garibay-Gutierrez, 43, was arrested for the fraudulent use and theft of the cards at the end of last year.
On Sept. 16, 2024, a deputy was contacted by a 73-year-old male victim who had mail stolen out of his mailbox, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim advised that in the stolen mail was one debit or credit card from Wells Fargo. He had received an alert on his phone that there was fraudulent use on his card, at which time he shut it down. There was a second card that was supposed to have been delivered, also a Wells Fargo card, the report said.
The deputy was able to get a picture of Garibay-Gutierrez from a person that was in the Forest District Office to complain about his mail being stolen also, the report said.
On Saturday, the deputy received a call for service regarding a civil dispute. He recognized Garibay-Gutierrez as being the same woman in the picture stealing the mail. She was read her rights, after which she admitted to stealing mail from mailboxes, the report said.
Garibay-Gutierrez specifically remembered the victim’s name on the card she used at Walmart. She stated she opened his mail, took two cards out and activated them. She then went to Walmart and bought a bag of dog food for about $40, the report said.
Garibay-Gutierrez next tried to go buy gas with the card, but it was denied. After she bought the dog food, the other person she was with tried to use the other card to buy $2,000 worth of stuff and was denied. She knew the cards were no longer good, so she disposed of them, the report said.
The deputy contacted the victim, at which time he looked through bank statements and found that on Sept. 15, 2024, a transaction for $2,265.27 was denied. He also saw that the dog food was purchased at Walmart for $41.54, the report said.
A criminal history check revealed Garibay-Gutierrez was convicted of petit theft on March 25, 2006, in Lake County and convicted of grand theft on Dec. 18, 2007, in Fruitland Park, the report said.
Garibay-Gutierrez was ultimately arrested on charges of fraud (illegal use of credit cards to obtain goods under $300), impersonation (fraudulent use ID without consent of victim 60 years of age or older) and petit theft (third or subsequent offense). She was transported to Marion County Jail with bond set at $11,000.