Three Tampa men were arrested Wednesday night after stealing about $4,000 worth of gift cards from Walmart, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office said.
Terrence D. Doston, 26, Denzel S. Ingram, 20, and Clarence Jones, 24, are believed to be part of a statewide crew that commits gift-card-related scams at Walmart locations, wrote Gainesville Police spokesperson Officer Ben Tobias in an email.
On Wednesday at about 2:17 p.m., Doston and Ingram tried to activate and steal gift cards from the Walmart in Butler Plaza while the cashier was distracted, Tobias said.
After the cashier noticed what was happening, the two men took off without the gift cards and met Jones in the car, Tobias said. The cashier alerted other Walmarts and described the car to police.
The three men went to the Walmart at 1800 NE 12th Ave., distracted a cashier and took eight Visa debit cards totalling $4,000, according to an arrest report.
More than an hour after the first attempted theft, two officers pulled over the car and found the gift cards in Doston’s pants pocket and in the car, according to the report. Doston also had four grams of marijuana.
Authorities took the men to Alachua County Jail where they remain, as of press time, in lieu of bond. Ingram’s bond is set at $100,000; Doston’s at $50,000; and Jones’ at $100,000.
@catie_wegman
