KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for using stolen credit cards that he obtained from automobile burglaries.
Jeffery M. Haywood, 44, of Independence, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to 15 years in federal prison without parole, which is the statutory maximum penalty for this offense, less credit for time served on a related state case.
On Sept. 22, 2014, Haywood pleaded guilty to using a stolen credit card with the intent to defraud.
According to court documents, the victim left her purse in her vehicle when she parked at the Overland Park Racquet Club in Overland Park, Kan., at approximately 7 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2012. When she returned to her vehicle at approximately 8:45 p.m., she found that a window had been smashed and her purse was gone. The purse contained several credit cards, including an American Express card. She immediately called American Express to report the card stolen and learned that more than $3,000 worth of unauthorized charges had already been made on her account at several local businesses in the past two hours, as well as a ninth attempted charge.
A loss prevention officer at a Price Chopper store provided investigators with a surveillance photograph of a female who had conducted the fraudulent transaction at that business. The surveillance photo was published in the news media and an anonymous caller identified the suspect, who was not charged in this case. She described an auto burglary ring that included Haywood and others.
The investigation revealed that Haywood was responsible for at least 10 additional automobile burglaries in which purses were taken and credit or debit cards stolen, with a total loss of more than $10,000.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Cowles. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Overland Park Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
