A Florida investigator allegedly swiped a dead man's credit card after taking it from a death scene, a woman allegedly stole an $8,000 wedding ring set from Kay Jewelers, a UCF student is accused of threatening to kill 3 Jewish students, and a drunk man allegedly slapped a Disney World hotel restaurant waitress: Here's FOX 35's Florida Crime Files.
Florida investigator allegedly swiped dead man's debit card from death scene, sent money to girlfriend
Darrell Reid (Photo: Coral Springs Police Department)
An investigator with the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office was arrested after he allegedly stole debit card information from a dead person during an investigation to send $450 to his girlfriend via Cash App – and police believe there could be other victims.
Darrell Reid, 38, of Pembroke Pines was charged with three counts of fraudulent use of the personal identification of a deceased person and one count of fraudulent use of a credit card, according to arrest records.
Authorities were first alerted to Reid's alleged scheme when the daughter of a man who died in Broward County reached out to police after she noticed three suspicious charges on her dead father's Bank of America debit card, according to an arrest warrant and affidavit obtained by FOX 35. This happened back in October 2023 after a man was found dead in an apartment after two weeks, arrest documents said.
Ten officials entered the man's apartment during the investigation, including eight Coral Springs Police Department employees, one employee of Removal Transport Services and one Broward County Medical Examiner's Office Investigator, identified as Reid. Reid was there for the purpose of "investigating the scene and taking possession of the body," documents said.
During the investigation, the man's wallet and its contents were examined, which is a routine part of combing through the death scene, officials said. After the investigation, the man's apartment was locked and secured and the key was turned over to his daughter. A few days later, she showed up to the police station to report three suspicious transactions from Oct. 22, 2023 and Oct. 23, 2023. The man's daughter said no one had permission to use her father's debit card after his death and wished to pursue criminal charges.
Police said these transactions were described on bank statements as three separate Cash App payments to a woman named Shanika Wright for $150 each, according to the arrest affidavit. An investigation ensued, and police served a subpoena to the parent company of Cash App for information about the transactions. Police received account information that linked the aforementioned dead man's debit card information to Reid's Cash App account under the $cashtag "deathinvest85," according to the affidavit.
Reid allegedly added the Bank of America debit card to his Cash App account just before 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2023 – just about an hour and a half after he had left the death scene.
Woman steals $8K wedding ring set from Florida Kay Jewelers: police
(Photo via Bradenton Police Department)
Police are looking to identify a woman accused of stealing an $8,000 wedding ring set from a Kay Jewelers store in Florida last week.
The Bradenton Police Department shared photos online showing the suspect, who spent several minutes browsing the store on Manatee Avenue before asking to try on the ring set.
Soon after trying on the rings, the woman ran from the store, heading northwest across Manatee Avenue.
The incident reportedly happened on Jan. 26 at around 1:30 p.m.
If you have any information, you're asked to contact Detective Gow at jay.gow@bradentonpd.com or 941-932-9373.
Drunk man allegedly slaps Walt Disney World hotel restaurant hostess over dress code snub
Photo: Orange County Corrections Department
A man is set for a pre-trial conference next month after he was accused of drunkenly slapping a host at a Walt Disney World Resort restaurant three times in the forehead after she didn't seat him due to the restaurant's dress code.
John Munro, 64, of South Carolina, was arrested and charged with battery after the incident that unfolded at Cítricos inside Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort back in November. Munroe entered a plea of not guilty and is expected to appear in court for a pre-trial conference hearing on Feb. 16.
On Nov. 19, 2023, deputies with the Orange County Sheriff's Office responded to the resort in reference to a battery, according to an arrest affidavit. Just before 7:30 p.m., a restaurant host was checking in a family who had a reservation for three. The party, however, arrived with four people – two women and two men.
One of the men, identified as Munro, wasn't dressed in accordance with the restaurant's dress code, according to the affidavit. He was wearing swim shorts and a T-shirt. Cítricos' website states that "guests are expected to dress accordingly in attire that respects the restaurant's sophisticated and upscale aesthetic," adding explicitly that swimwear isn't allowed.
The host told Munro that he wouldn't be allowed to dine with the party, and he understood but said he'd wait with them until they were seated. The host was fine with his request, but the situation escalated when she grabbed the group to seat them a few minutes later.
According to deputies, Munro followed the party of three to their table even though he was told he wasn't allowed to.
"Please don't allow him to sit with us, he is really drunk, underdressed, it's my birthday and I'm embarrassed," one of the woman told the host, according to the affidavit.
When the host told Munro that he couldn't sit with the group, he "began to repeatedly slap her forehead" three times while stating her name, which he read from the name tag on her shirt, deputies said. After the birthday girl shooed Munro away, he stopped and walked away.
UCF student accused of threatening to kill 3 Jewish students during on-campus event
Seif Asi (Photo: Orange County Corrections Department)
A student at the University of Central Florida was arrested last week after he allegedly threatened to shoot and kill three Jewish students during a pro-Israel demonstration on campus because "he is tired of seeing (them)", according to police.
Seif Asi, 21, was arrested and charged with three counts of intimidation and credible threat to a person wearing a religious item after the incident that unfolded at the John T. Washington Center on campus on Jan. 23, according to an arrest affidavit from the UCF Police Department.
Students with the "Students Supporting Israel" group on campus were partaking in an approved UCF Office of Student Involvement free-expression event where they were placing small Israeli flags in the ground to honor the Jewish lives lost during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the affidavit said.
According to UCF's website, the university "strongly supports" the First Amendment right students have to free speech and free expression.
"Use of outdoor areas of campus for expressive activities is permitted as long as the use does not violate the law and does not materially and substantially disrupt the functioning of the university or infringe upon the rights of others to engage in expressive activities," UCF's policy states.
Asi told police he saw the group of students setting up earlier that day and it made him upset. Instead of engaging, Asi went to the gym on campus to work out, but then told police "he was so upset about it he decided to go back and confront the group after his workout," the affidavit said.
During this confrontation, which lasted a minute or two at around 11:30 a.m., Asi allegedly threatened to shoot three students with a gun.
"I'm going to kill you," Asi admitted to police he said, according to the arrest affidavit.
"You won't be here anymore when I come back and shoot you," the three students told police of what Asi allegedly told them.
Asi also allegedly accused the students of "supporting a genocide, the deaths of Palestinians, and the death of his family members in Palestine," the affidavit said of Asi, who said he is a U.S. citizen but is Palestinian and has family in Palestine.