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The ring was busted around 6 p.m. Wednesday after a Trumbull officer patrolling the mall’s parking lot observed three men walking together acting suspiciously, said Trumbull Police Capt. Keith Golding.
The men split up and entered the mall after spotting the marked patrol car. A short time later, the same men exited the mall and quickly made their way to a waiting vehicle parked near the exit, he said.
As this was occurring, the loss prevention manager for the Apple Store inside the mall, approached the officer and told him that the three men had just tried to use fraudulent credit cards to make several large purchases, Golding added.
The officer stopped the vehicle it as it exited onto Main Street. Driving the vehicle was Shaheen Hopson 22, of the Bronx, along with the three suspects inside the vehicle and were identified by the store manager.
A search of the vehicle and its passengers found nearly two dozen fraudulent credit cards, two electronic credit card readers and a quantity of counterfeit cash, Golding said.
Taken into custody at the scene were, Hopson, Marcus Fredericks 27, of Georgia; Devon Ross 21, of the Bronx, and Shaheed Clarke, 21, of the Bronx.
All four were charged with illegal use of a scanning device, identity theft, forgery, and several other related charges.
Each was held on $100,000 bond and are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 16.
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