By VINAYA SAKSENA

CUMBERLAND — Three New Yorkers alleged to have been involved in an incident of credit card fraud at a local supermarket on Tuesday — and similar incidents at stores in Lincoln and nearby Massachusetts — have been arrested by the Rhode Island State Police.

According to Rhode Island State Police, the suspects arrested Wednesday are identified as three Brooklyn, N.Y. residents: Mohamad Alomari and Kevin Baynes, both 21, and 19-year-old Sarah C. Theagene. Each of the suspects has been charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretenses over $500.
Baynes was actually arrested twice, State Police say.
The first arrest came on Tuesday, when the Cumberland Police Department arrested Baynes on a charge of fraudulent use of a credit card, following an alleged incident at the Stop & Shop supermarket on Mendon Road. He was subsequently released, while the other two suspects had allegedly fled the scene before police could catch them.
However, authorities had a second chance to apprehend the three suspects the following day, and were able to do so this time.
According to the state police, Trooper Matthew McGuire of the department’s Hope Valley Barracks stopped the vehicle the suspects were riding on Interstate 95 South for speeding. After stopping the vehicle, McGuire and his State Police colleagues learned a couple of details that heightened their interest in the vehicle and its occupants.
First, it was reportedly determined that the suspects’ vehicle was not registered. Shortly thereafter, state police were notified of the occupants’ suspected involvement in the previous day’s credit card fraud incident. Based on this information, the vehicle was searched, turning up several gift and debit cards, which allegedly turned out to be part of an elaborate fraud scheme.
According to the state police, it appeared that the magnetic strips on the backs of the cards had been altered to allow the suspects to make purchases using the name and account number of the card owners. Lt. Col. Stephen O’Donnell of the State said that the suspects appeared to have accomplished this using one of several types of scanning devices that can be purchased without too much difficulty.
“All technology we have is (intended) for good, but sometimes people use it for things they shouldn’t be doing,” O’Donnell said. “They had a machine that would produce these magnetic strips. They superimposed the information onto the credit cards or gift cards they had.”
In addition to the incident at Stop & Shop in Cumberland, the suspects were believed to have been involved in similar incidents elsewhere, including Lincoln and several locations in nearby Massachusetts, as a result of information gleaned with the assistance of Stop & Shop’s loss prevention department. The state police had not revealed as of press time where these incidents had taken place, but O’Donnell said this information may lead to further charges against the suspects, as the charges leveled so far did not address activities involving all of the cards found in the car.
“They had nine cards,” O’Donnell said. “So we’re continuing to investigate the other cards.”
All three suspects were arraigned on Thursday in the Sixth District Court, Providence. Alomari and Baynes were held as a probation violator and bail violator, respectively, and have a hearing scheduled for Nov. 20, the state police said. Theagene, meanwhile, was being held on $10,000 surety bail. She was not known to have posted the necessary $1,000 as of press time. State Police ask anyone with information on the incidents to call their Detective Bureau at (401) 444-1158.
In the meantime, O’Donnell advised consumers to be careful with their debit or credit card information both online and elsewhere.
“Take care of your computer,” he said. “Pay attention to suspicious activity that you see on your computer. Stay on top of your credit card transactions, and just be cautious when you use credit.”