THIEVES used a stolen credit card 12 times to buy jewellery and clothing items from stores at Frankston Centro shopping centre on Monday 10 October.
Police will allege that, earlier that day, the thieves pulled the flyscreen off a window to enter a Petrie St, Frankston house and stole a woman’s handbag. The woman, who was at home at the time, had left the bag in her bedroom at about 2.30pm.
The thieves then went on a shopping spree at Myer, Country Road and various jewellery stores, using the card’s PayPass facility to buy items valued at under $100 each – racking up debts of around $1000.
A woman, 42, and a man, 38, both of Frankston, were arrested when identified on CCTV, thanks to the skills of Detective Sergeant Paul Mealia, of Frankston CIU, and crews in the station’s District Operations Support Office, who matched their faces with names and addresses.
The couple have been charged with aggravated burglary, theft, 12 counts of obtaining property by deception and handling stolen gods. They were remanded to appear at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on 8 December.
