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Woman Charges $5,700 On Stolen Credit Cards, Authorities Say

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: January 29, 2009

Dora Rodriguez-Zuluaga

SEBRING - A Miami woman was returned from Orange County and jailed in Highlands County Tuesday on a slew of charges stemming from an alleged illegal shopping spree.

Dora Irene Rodriguez-Zuluaga, 51, of Miami, faces four counts of theft of $300 or more from a person 65 years of age, one count of dealing in stolen property, one count of using or possessing an ID of another person without consent, two counts of theft of a credit card, four counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, three counts of forgery and three counts of fraud.

On May 15, 2008, a woman shopping at Shelby Crossings Plaza in Sebring had her wallet stolen out of her purse, according to the arrest report. It contained credit cards, $20 cash and the victim's Florida driver's license.

Within an hour, the victim's credit card was used to purchase two digital cameras and two memory cards, valued at approximately $2,862.21, from the nearby Circuit City location.

About 20 minutes later, the card was used to buy a notebook computer, computer case and $600 worth of gift certificates from the Sebring Office Depot. The value of those items was $2,871.59, the report stated, for a grand total of $5,733.80.

Surveillance video from Circuit City showed two Hispanic males and two Hispanic females as the persons obtaining the merchandise.

On May 16, 2008, two suspects were arrested for similar incidents by the Altamonte Springs Police Department. Detective Jamie Davidson, with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office's Criminal Investigations Unit, reviewed photos of the subjects and reportedly identified Rodriguez-Zuluaga as the female from the surveillance footage who was maintaining custody of the stolen credit cards and made the purchases.

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