Hunter
01/02/24
An area transient who reportedly broke into a residence early Saturday morning and made off with items before he was arrested by police now faces additional charges after police allege he used stolen credit cards to rack up thousands of dollars in charges.
The fraud investigation began on December 27th. According to police, the first victim was swimming at the Robert A Lee Rec Center on October 30th and had $200 cash stolen from his wallet. When he got his credit card statement later, he noticed numerous unauthorized charges and that his credit card was missing from his wallet.
The victim identified 41 unauthorized charges between October 31st and November 5th, totaling nearly $5270.
The officer investigating the incidents learned that 37-year-old Ronald Givins used the card at the Hampton Inn and used an ID at check-in that matched his name and description. Other surveillance video from the Waterfront Drive HyVee and the Iowa City Walmart allegedly showed Givins making additional unauthorized purchases.
On Christmas Day, Givins and an accomplice reportedly used a MasterCard stolen from a residential burglary earlier in the day at the Kirkwood Avenue Conoco station. Two transactions totaling over $206 were made using the stolen card there, and they were able to obtain a $400 gift card from the Kum & Go on Gilbert Street before having a second transaction declined.
Police arrested Givins early Saturday after they were notified that he broke into a residence and stole items. When he exited the building, officers gave multiple commands to surrender, but he instead ran back into the building before he was detained.
Givins faces two counts of unauthorized use of a credit card under $1500, one count of unauthorized use over $1500, plus the burglary, theft, criminal mischief and interference with official acts charges from the weekend. If convicted on all counts, Givins could be sentenced to up to over 19 years in prison.