THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 14, 1995 TAG: 9509140347
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The clerk answering the phone Monday night gave Sean and Marie Elgut some startling news: Their stolen Discover card had been used only seven minutes earlier at a record store - in the mall they had just left.
That was 8:24 p.m. Marie's pocketbook had been stolen about an hour earlier.
Sean Elgut, a 28-year-old Regent University student, figured the thief would probably buy something big before Greenbrier Mall closed at 9 p.m.
He had 30 minutes to catch a thief.
``I prayed before I went down there,'' Elgut said Wednesday. ``I said, `Lord, I really want to get this guy.' ''
Minutes later, after a blistering race to the mall, Elgut was face-to-face with the crook.
This is what happened, Elgut said:
The couple's relaxing shopping trip ended when someone swiped Marie Elgut's pocketbook. They had paused to diaper their baby, and a thief snatched the purse when they weren't looking.
In Marie's purse were two credit cards. Once home, the Elguts called to cancel the MasterCard first.
Someone had used it that night to buy $10 worth of gas, they were told.
Then they called to cancel the Discover Card.
``They told us someone had used it at 8:17 and that was seven minutes ago,'' Sean Elgut said. ``We live about 10 minutes from the mall. I gave the phone to my wife and took off.''
He raced to The Wall, the record store where the card was last used, to get a description of the thief. The clerk behind the counter directed Elgut to the manager.
The manager was helping a man buy a $99 CD player. Elgut waited patiently behind the customer, until he noticed that the man was paying with the stolen Discover card.
The thief had returned to make a second purchase.
Elgut blurted, ``Hey, buddy, that's my wife's credit card.''
The thief covered the name with his thumb, said the card was his mother's, and left without the CD player.
Elgut followed.
The chase quickened, and the thief darted for the escalator. Elgut and store security workers jogged behind. Upstairs, a mall janitor heard the chase over a radio, spotted the suspect, and nabbed him.
In the thief's shopping bag was a receipt with a forged signature that matched one at the record store, Elgut said.
Police identified the suspect as Kevin J. Reel, 19, of the 5800 block of Lancelot Drive in Virginia Beach. He was charged with credit-card theft, fraud and forgery.
Reel, who last year pleaded guilty to statutory burglary and grand larceny in Virginia Beach, is scheduled for a hearing Sept. 26.
``Normally, I'm laid-back,'' Elgut said. ``This isn't like me. But when they told me someone was using the card now, I got angry. I kind of feel vindicated.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Sean Elgut and wife Marie were distracted by a diaper, and Marie's
purse was snatched.
KEYWORDS: ARREST CREDIT CARD THEFT FRAUD FORGERY by CNB