Police arrest 2 accused of identity theft at Apple Store in Deer Park
Authorities have arrested two people accused of using phony identities to make purchases at an Apple store in Deer Park with other customers' accounts, according to a news release Saturday.
Alexander J. Soto, 25, of Yonkers, New York, and Diamand D. Reid, 22, of Roseville, Michigan, face felony charges of burglary and identity theft. Soto was also charged with felony retail theft.
Lake County sheriff's detectives are investigating whether the pair could be connected to a New York-based criminal enterprise targeting Apple stores in the Chicago area. In July, the sheriff's office arrested seven New York residents accused of deceptively committing high-value thefts at Apple stores.
Lake County sheriff's detectives went to the Apple store in the 20500 block of North Rand Road in Deer Park twice Friday in response to reports of fraudulent activity. Investigators accused Soto and Reid of attempting to gain unauthorized access to AT&T accounts to purchase more than $3,000 in Apple merchandise, according to the news release.
Sheriff's detectives are contacting other local and regional Apple stores to determine whether similar crimes have been reported.
Soto and Reid were in Lake County jail Saturday. Soto's bond was $70,000; Reid's was $60,000.
Both have courts hearings set for 1:30 p.m. Monday.