Crime & Safety

Catonsville Man Charged After Being Identified Via Facebook

Tips led to the identification and charging of Catonsville resident Craig Kenneth England in a Howard County credit card theft.

A Catonsville man has been charged with theft and credit card fraud after being identified via photographs posted on the Howard County Police Department's Facebook page.

Craig Kenneth England was charged in an investigation involving two credit cards that had been stolen Feb. 8 from an employee's purse in the Johns Hopkins Medical Building on Charter Drive in Columbia, according to a statement from Howard County officials.

Also charged in the scheme was Stephanie Nicole Stuart, 25, of Essex.

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The two individuals were charged via a criminal summons and have been ordered by a court commissioner to appear before a Howard County court, according to Mary Phelan of the police department's Office of Public Affairs.

The police investigation showed that both credit cards were used later in the day on Feb. 8, at several stores in Columbia and Ellicott City, including Target, Kohl's, Lowe's, Office Depot, Game Stop and Advanced Auto Parts.

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Surveillance video at several of the stores captured images of a woman and a man, later identified as Stuart and England, using the cards, according to police.

Howard County police officials posted the images to the department's Facebook page, which led to tips that identified the alleged thieves.

Stuart and England were charged with eight counts of theft and one count of conspiracy, according to police. In addition, Stuart was charged with six counts of credit card fraud and England was charged with four counts of credit card fraud.

They purchased more than $3,000 in goods on the stolen cards, according to police.


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