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Two New York City men were arrested in Peekskill Friday after police said they scammed several area Stop and Shop supermarkets.
Willie Townsend, 50, of Queens, and Jason Rowe, 28, of Brooklyn, were arrested at 1:40 p.m. at the Stop and Shop in the Beach Shopping Center by Police Detective Ralph DAliso. The two were charged with second-degree criminal possession of a forged Instrument, a class D felony.
Police said they discovered the men had a fraudulent credit card they tried to use to purchase gift cards at the store. Further investigation revealed the two were in possession of several additional stolen credit cards, a mini computer and a credit card swipe device, according to Peekskill Police spokesman Lt. Eric Johansen.
There was some indication that they might have been hitting the trail, so to speak, from the city up though Westchester, Johansen said. They specifically targeted Stop & Shops, why I dont know.
Police believe the two men were able to manufacture credit cards by using stolen account information. They would then use the bogus credit cards to purchase gift cards from supermarkets.
The investigation is continuing into the two while police work with other agencies and attempt to identify other victims. Johansen credited store security with catching the men.
One of the stores they had victimized south of here contacted several sister stores, one of which being Peekskill, and alerted them to these two individuals and because of that the Peekskill store was on the lookout, Johansen said.
Both men were held for arraignment in city court without bail.
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