A Baltimore City grand jury has indicted one current and one former correctional officer on charges of stealing credit cards from inmates at Baltimore?s Central Booking and Intake Facility.
Lontona Maria Webb, 38, and her boyfriend, Michael Moore, 26, both of Baltimore, and Latoya Renee James, 24, of Parkville, were charged with multiple counts of credit card theft, identity fraud and misconduct in office.
Webb is a former Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services officer. James is still a correctional officer, but will be placed on administrative leave because of the charges, officials said.
Court documents allege that between November 2006 and March eight defendants who were processed at Central Booking reported their credit cards stolen and used during their period of incarceration.
Among the eight victims was public defender Nicholas Panteleakis, who was arrested for allegedly loitering in February. That charge was dropped.
The officers allegedly used the cards at department stores Target and Wal-Mart, documents state.
“It was a joint investigation with Baltimore police detectives assigned to check and fraud, and the Baltimore State?s Attorney?s Office economic crimes division,” said Margaret Burns, spokeswoman for the Baltimore City State?s Attorney?s Office.
Webb, who was employed as a correctional officer during the time period, took various credit cards that she and her boyfriend Moore used to purchase items in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, prosecutors said.
During a search and seizure warrant executed at the defendants? home, additional credit cards were recovered of people who had been booked at Central Booking, according to police.
James worked the same shift at Central Book as Webb and also allegedly took a credit card that he used in Baltimore County, prosecutors said.
Benjamin Brown, Assistant Commissioner fr Division of Pretrial Detention and Services, stressed that Central Booking processes close to 100,000 people every year.
“We get very, very few complaints of lost or stolen property, given the high volume of bookings processed each year,” he said in a statement. “We thoroughly investigate every complaint. We do not believe this was a large-scale, organizedeffort, but we remain committed to working with the State?s Attorney?s Office in the event it broadens.”
An arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 21 before Baltimore City Circuit Judge John Glynn.
