| Probable cause affidavit: |
SUBMITTED BY: REYNOLDS, CONNARY 1269 (AR13-6052) DID UNLAWFULLY AND KNOWINGLY OBTAIN, USE OR ENDEAVOR TO OBTAIN OR USE THE PROPERTY OF THE VICTIM, TO-WIT: 12 FLORIDA LOTTERY SCRATCH OFF TICKETS, OF THE VALUE OF THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($300.00) OR MORE, BUT LESS THAN TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($20,000.00), TO WIT: $3400.00, WITH THE INTENT TO EITHER TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY DEPRIVE THE VICTIM OF A RIGHT TO THE PROPERTY OR A BENEFIT THEREOF, OR DID APPROPRIATE THE SAID PROPERTY TO HIS OWN USE OR THE USE OF ANY PERSON NOT ENTITLED THERETO, IN VIOLATION OF FLORIDA STATUTES 812.014. ON 061313, I WAS DISPATCHED TO THE KANGAROO EXPRESS LOCATED AT 6296 WEST GULF TO LAKE HIGHWAY, CRYSTAL RIVER FLORIDA, IN REFERENCE TO A THEFT THAT HAD ALREADY occurred. UPON ARRIVAL, I MADE CONTACT WITH THE STORE MANAGER/WITNESS, MS CHRISTINA MARIE BRIGMAN. MS BRIGMAN ADVISED THAT ON THE MORNING OF 061113, WHILE REVIEWING THE WEEKLY STORE REPORT AND COMPLETING PAPERWORK SHE NOTICED A CASH SHORTAGE OF SCRATCH OFF TICKETS OF $240.00, AT WHICH TIME, SHE NOTIFIED HER DISTRICT MANAGER OF THE SHORTAGE AND MADE CONTACT WITH THE SECURITY AT FLORIDA LOTTERY. MS BRIGMAN STATED THAT AFTER MAKING CONTACT WITH FLORIDA LOTTERY, SHE ATTEMPTED TO LOCATE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE CONTAINING ANY POSSIBLE THEFTS OF FLORIDA LOTTERY TICKETS. SHE OBSERVED HER EMPLOYEE, MS RACHELLE MURPHY, LATER IDENTIFIED AS THE DEFENDANT, PLAYING SCRATCH OFF WHILE WORKING AT THE CASH REGISTER IN THE CAPACITY OF A SALES ASSOCIATE. MS BRIGMAN STATED THAT SHE BELIEVED SHE TOOK APPROXIMATELY $240.00 WORTH OF FLORIDA LOTTERY SCRATCH OFF TICKETS. MS BRIGMAN ADVISED THAT IT IS AGAINST STORE POLICY FOR SALES ASSOCIATES TO PURCHASE SCRATCH OFF TICKETS WHILE THEY ARE WORKING AND THAT THE DEFENDANT IS AWARE OF THIS POLICY. MS BRIGMAN COMPLETED A SWORN WRITTEN STATEMENT, which WAS LATER TURNED IN TO RECORDS. MS BRIGMAN WAS PROVIDED WITH AN AGENCY CASE NUMBER BEARING MY NAME, BADGE NUMBER, AND AGENCY CASE NUMBER. I THEN MADE CONTACT WITH THE DISTRICT MANAGER, MR WILLIAM HANCOCK, WHO ADVISED THAT ON THE MORNING OF 061113, HE WAS INFORMED BY THE STORE MANAGER OF THE CASH SHORTAGE OF OVER $170.00 AND A FLORIDA LOTTERY SCRATCH OFF SHORTAGE OF $240.00. MR HANCOCK STATED THAT HE THEN MADE CONTACT WITH THE FLORIDA LOTTERY DEPARTMENT TO ADVISE THEM OF THE SITUATION. THEY THEN WATCHED THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE AND OBSERVED THE DEFENDANT ALONE ON DUTY. SHE PULLED 12 FLORIDA LOTTERY SCRATCH OFF TICKETS, VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $20.00 EACH, FROM THE TICKET ROLL. SHE TOOK AN ITEM OFF of the FRONT REGISTER, TURNED AROUND AND WENT TO A TABLE BEHIND THE REGISTER, WHERE SHE THEN SCRATCHED OFF THE BOTTOM BARCODE OF THE TICKET AND CHECKED THE TICKET THROUGH THE LOTTERY TERMINAL BEHIND THE REGISTER TO SEE IF IT WAS A WINNER. THE VIDEO APPEARED TO SHOW THIS APPROXIMATELY 12 TIMES. MR HANCOCK THEN SHOWED ME THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE. THE VIDEO FOOTAGE I OBSERVED CORROBORATED WITH THE DESCRIPTION GIVEN BY THE DISTRICT MANAGER. A COPY OF THE VIDEO SURVEILLANCE WAS PUT ON A CD BY THE DISTRICT MANAGER AND I WAS ALSO PROVIDED WITH THE KANGAROO EXPRESS STORE WEEKLY REPORT SHOWING THE FLORIDA LOTTERY SCRATCH OFFS SHORT $240.00. THE CD CONTAINING FOOTAGE OF THE GRAND THEFT WAS LATER TURNED IN TO EVIDENCE AND THE KANGAROO EXPRESS WEEKLY REPORT WAS LATER TURNED IN TO RECORDS. MR HANCOCK COMPLETED A SWORN WRITTEN STATEMENT, WHICH WAS TURNED IN TO RECORDS. MR HANCOCK STATED THAT THREE OF THE STOLEN FLORIDA LOTTERY SCRATCH OFF TICKETS WERE WINNERS WITH A TOTAL VALUE OF $100.00 AND THAT KANGAROO EXPRESS WILL LOOSE THAT MONEY BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO PAY IT BACK TO THE FLORIDA LOTTERY. THE DEFENDANT THEN ARRIVED ON SCENE TO START HER SHIFT FOR WORK, WHERE I MADE CONTACT WITH HER IN THE STORE BREAK ROOM. I THEN READ HER MIRANDA WARNINGS VIA PREPRINTED AGENCY ISSUED CARD AND ASKED HER IF SHE WISHED TO SPEAK WITH ME ABOUT THIS INCIDENT. SHE ADVISED THAT SHE WOULD. THE DEFENDANT INITIALLY STATED THAT SHE HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON AND DID NOT KNOW WHY I WAS THERE. WHEN CONFRONTED ABOUT THE IN STORE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE SHOWING HER TAKING THE SCRATCH OFF TICKETS, SCRATCHING THEM OFF, AND CHECKING THEM, SHE THEN STATED IN A LOW MURMUR, âI WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR TAKING THE TICKETS.â WHEN ASKED HOW MANY TICKETS THE DEFENDANT HAD TAKEN, SHE STATED, âABOUT EIGHT OR TEN.â THE DEFENDANT ALSO STATED THAT THREE OF THE TICKETS WERE WINNERS AND THAT THE WINNERS WERE VALUED AT $50.00, $30.00, AND $20.00. THE STORE MANAGER ALSO RECEIVED AN E-MAIL FROM FLORIDA LOTTERY SHOWING WINNING TICKET RESULTS ON 061013 THROUGH 061113, AT THE KANGAROO EXPRESS. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT TICKET NUMBER THREE, VIRN NUMBER 208274351, WAS VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $50.00, TICKET NUMBER 11, VIRN NUMBER 314930331, WAS VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $30.00, AND TICKET NUMBER 16, VIRN NUMBER 350251414, WAS VALUED AT $20.00, LEADING TO A STORE TOTAL LOSS OF APPROXIMATELY $340.00. A COPY OF THE RESULTS WAS PROVIDED TO ME BY THE STORE MANAGER AND WAS LATER TURNED IN TO RECORDS. A PROPERTY RECEIPT WAS COMPLETED AND SIGNED BY THE STORE MANAGER, FOR ALL ITEMS COLLECTED, WHERE SHE WAS THEN PROVIDED WITH HER COPY AND THE PROPERTY RECEIPT WAS LATER TURNED IN TO RECORDS. THE DEFENDANT WAS THEN ADVISED THAT SHE WAS BEING PLACED UNDER ARREST FOR GRAND THEFT WHERE SHE WAS SEARCHED, SECURED IN THE REAR OF MY PATROL VEHICLE, AND TRANSPORTED TO THE CITRUS COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY, WHERE HER BOND WAS SET AT $2,000.00 PER THE BOND SCHEDULE. NO FURTHER ACTION TAKEN BY THIS DEPUTY. |
