The Camden Police Department (CPD) arrested four men on Jan. 26 and is seeking a fifth man for possessing what are known as card “skimmers” at gas pumps to steal information from customers’ personal and financial information.
According to a CPD press release issued Tuesday and a copy of the department’s report on the arrest, Kershaw County dispatchers received a call from a concerned citizen around 3 a.m. Jan. 26 regarding suspicious individuals near the BP station gas pumps at the corner of East DeKalb Street and Lakeshore Drive. An officer arriving at the scene found the men in or standing near a black Infiniti SUV, two of whom threw bags away from the vehicle. Those bags contained a total of 11 gas pump skimmers, and officers found two more already placed inside of gas pumps.
The CPD identified the suspects as Osmany Oliva Quintanilla, of Miami, Fla.; and Reiner Simon Hernandez, 36, Humberto Machin Morejon, 34, and Orlando Acosta Cabrera, 46, all of Orlando, Fla.
The fifth suspect is Edrey Acosta Cabrera, 41, also of Orlando, Fla. He is described as being 5 feet 9 inches tall, approximately 200 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
The CPD charged Orlando Cabrera, Hernandez, Morejon and Quintanilla each with one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of financial identity fraud and 13 counts of possession of a financial transaction card forgery device. Each suspect is being held at the Kershaw County Detention Center on total bonds of $119,000 each.
During a brief phone call Wednesday morning, CPD Chief Joe Floyd pointed out that the skimmers the suspects had are ones that are placed inside gas pumps, not outside where consumers might be able to detect them. Floyd said the suspects actually managed to open two of the gas pumps and place skimmers inside of them to avoid detection.
According to the CPD’s report, the reporting officer arrived to find the SUV, with its front and rear passengers doors open, pulled up to a particular pump. One of the men threw a plastic bag behind the SUV; another threw a yellow shopping bag toward the store. All four men -- all of whom claimed they did not speak English -- provided driver’s licenses, although it was unclear if Hernandez’s and Quintanilla’s were valid. Hernandez also produced a Florida concealed weapons permit.
While speaking with another officer, the reporting officer saw one of the men throw a black glove to the side. Retrieving the glove, the officer found ripped pieces of paper with English written on it in green. They also reported that the SUV’s license tag came back to a Hertz rental facility in Orlando, Fla.
While being searched at the detention center, officers recovered three phones and several keys. Back at the scene, officers also took photographs of the pump the men had been standing at, including the red tape used to seal the pump that had been ripped off, purportedly by the suspects.
Two officers took the keys back to the BP station and attempted to use them. Two of the keys fit, but would not turn. A clerk arrived at the scene and opened the pump so officers could take photographs of its interior.
