Police wrap up tinfoil bandits
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Akeem M. Williams
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Gregoran P. Mosley
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Kwamesha M. Milsap
NEWVILLE — First, they are suspected of climbing on the Newville gas station's roof and covering a satellite dish with tinfoil to disable the credit card system.
Then they are accused of using credit cards to buy beer, cigarettes and soda.
The credit cards seemed to be working, but they weren't being charged because transaction information wasn't transmitting.
If it wasn't for an alert clerk, they might have gotten away with it.
Instead, the tinfoil bandits were arrested in a scheme that has spread from northern Illinois, to Beloit, to Janesville, to Edgerton, to Wisconsin Dells.
Akeem M. Williams, 21, Beloit; Gregoran P. Mosley, 21, South Holland, Ill.; and Kwamesha M. Milsap, 20, Beloit, were arrested on charges of financial card crimes and theft in the Newville incident.
They remain under investigation in other cases, Rock County Sheriff's Capt. Todd Christiansen said.
The scheme allows perpetrators to buy items and leave the store with receipts, he said. The transactions aren't denied until the tinfoil is removed.
"Being able to disable the credit card system is kind of interesting," Christiansen said. "It's new to this area, but it has been happening in larger cities."
Deputies went to Carl's Shell in Newville at 11:54 p.m. Monday after three people made nine different trips into the store to buy various items with credit cards, he said.
The clerk noticed the state lottery machine and other machines were offline and not working, Christiansen said.
The clerk suspected something suspicious and provided law enforcement with a description of the suspects and their vehicle, he said.
A Wisconsin State Patrol trooper later stopped a vehicle traveling south on Interstate 90/39, Christiansen said.
Investigators found tinfoil, credit card receipts and items from Carl's Shell inside the vehicle, he said. Items from other businesses also were found.
May 28, 2010 at 11:51 p.m.
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How did they figure this out? Had to be the internet, the root of all crime.
May 28, 2010 at 11:07 a.m.
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Wow, I did not know they shoot rap videos around here.
May 28, 2010 at 6:05 a.m.
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"Stupid is as STUPID does" - Nine different trips into the store.
May 28, 2010 at 2:36 a.m.
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how much you want to bet, the girl pleads thats she's innocent, but how innocent are you when you knew they were going in and out of the store and nine times out of ten, its probably the females car they were in...hmmm kinda gets you thinking about who you hang around.
May 28, 2010 at 1:37 a.m.
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The phones were down at the Gazette today. Hmmm. Co-inky dink?
May 27, 2010 at 8:52 p.m.
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Yeah, if they fell off the roof..who knows? they might've gotten the SHINGLES!!
May 27, 2010 at 8:14 p.m.
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My guess is if they would have fallen off the roof they'd have sued for damages!
May 27, 2010 at 2:49 p.m.
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Hope it was worth it....
They are lucky they didn't fall off the roof...
May 27, 2010 at 2:37 p.m.
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bigdaddy1, "Amiee over at Carols Shell should fire the person who kept letting them charge things, After the third time the red flag should have been up." I think the cashier did the right thing. Since the cashier was suspicious, allowing the crooks to get out of the store before alerting police kept the cashier safe (which is most important). A lot could have gone wrong had the cashier confronted the crooks.
May 27, 2010 at 1:23 p.m.
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Actually bigdaddy1, the clerk ought to get a raise. Of course its easy for you to point out the obvious AFTER you read the article. Some activity seems odd but not necessarily suspicious until some of the dots get connected. As someone responsible for financial transactions I am very glad this event made the news. I am familiar with a variety of schemes but have never heard of using tinfoil in this manner to block a signal. If the machine accepts the card and processes the sale, naturally you assume the transaction is complete. What proof did the clerk have to question their purchases bigdaddy1, odd behavior? The clerk showed intelligence by not only noticing the odd behavior but also piecing together other evidence that led him/her to call the police. The thefts occurred from Northern IL to the Dells, but they only were caught by the clerk in Newville. Great Job!!
May 27, 2010 at 1:21 p.m.
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It was originally tin (until about 50 years ago). The name stuck.
May 27, 2010 at 1:06 p.m.
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Why do we still call it "tin foil" when it is actually made out of aluminum and the carton it comes in says "aluminum foil"?
May 27, 2010 at 9:55 a.m.
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These people obviously have too much time on their hands. They need to go out and get real jobs, instead of stealing from others. I hope they do some jail time for what they did.
May 27, 2010 at 8:40 a.m.
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WONDER IF THEY EVER ONCE CONSIDERED GETTING A JOB?..BY THE LOOKS OF IT, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY NO...get a good look now, these may be the faces you see GANGSTERING your houses,apartments or cars in the near future..as soon as they slap them on the wrist and put them back on the streets ..SAD, i feel sorry for the parents of these kids
May 27, 2010 at 5:48 a.m.
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Eman.. black or white, or any color or race, if the shoe fits, they have to wear it! Meaning if they committed the crime..they'll get caught and have to pay for it, one way or another, they're gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, one way, or another...
May 27, 2010 at 12:58 a.m.
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All that damn thought, energy and time to carry out another stinking crime. I hope you three are reading this, as (you) were all released on signature bonds (of coarse), You are worthless........GET A JOB! Stop thieving.
May 26, 2010 at 9:52 p.m.
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She?? I don't see a woman in the photos.... :))
May 26, 2010 at 8:11 p.m.
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Eman...you are so observant. What tipped you off to their race?
May 26, 2010 at 8:10 p.m.
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why would this paper tell everybody how to do it. Amiee over at Carols Shell should fire the person who kept letting them charge things, After the third time the red flag should have been up. Great cashier then they wonder why they get what they get paid.
May 26, 2010 at 6:52 p.m.
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"...after three people made nine different trips into the store to buy various items..."
Duh...
May 26, 2010 at 6:14 p.m.
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i'm sure glad the gazette published this story,
otherwise thousands of would be crooks would not know how to do this.
ignorance is BLISS
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