Trio accused of using credit card stolen from hospital room

Two men and a woman were charged with burglary and three counts of identity theft Thursday for allegedly sneaking into the hospital room of new parents and stealing the father's backpack, then using the credit cards they found to charge items at various places in Madison.

Scheduled to appear in court later this month are Jawan L. Clash, 26, of Fitchburg, Arlena R. Lee, 19, of Madison, and Davarius L. McDonald, 23, of Madison. Because Clash and Lee have been previously convicted of crimes, they face a grand total of 51 years of prison and extended supervision if convicted, while McDonald faces a maximum of 33 years.

According to the criminal complaint filed Thursday, the trio went into Meriter Hospital through an emergency room entrance shortly before 1 a.m. on Sept. 20. Security video footage shows them checking out several rooms as they went floor to floor, finally stopping outside a fourth-floor room.

Clash went into the room, which was occupied by a woman who had given birth on Sept. 19, her newborn daughter, and her husband, all of whom were asleep at the time.

With McDonald and Lee acting as lookouts, the complaint says, Clash came out of the room and handed something to Lee, then went back in. Both McDonald and Lee were looking into the room, but also looking back toward a security camera, the complaint says.

Clash is then seen coming out of the room with a dark backpack over his shoulder, and all three leave the hospital quickly, the complaint says, with Clash still toting the backpack.

A Madison police officer who had arrested all three for retail theft in July recognized them on the hospital video, and they turned out to appear again on security video from Sept. 20 at The Buckle at West Towne, where they used the dad's credit card to buy $430 worth of merchandise.

They also used the credit card and cash found in the backpack at three places early Sept. 20, including two charges at a Mobile station and a charge at 2:32 a.m. at Selective Video, a porn shop on the Beltline.

Starting at about 10:30 a.m. that same day, they used the card at several other stores and convenience stores, with the major purchases being at Journeys Shoes at West Towne for $253 and at the Buckle.

News Source : http://www.madison.com/