McComb police Monday arrested one of the women suspected in an organized credit card fraud ring.
Officers booked Karen Smith Calvin, 44, of Natchez, on a charge of credit card fraud.
Detective Shannon Sullivan said Calvin surrendered to police after investigators released photos of her and another woman, Vifran Nanese Carter, to the public in July.
“I’m pretty sure she was looking over her shoulder,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think she could have run for the rest of her life. She did the right thing — turned herself in.”
A tipster identified Calvin and Carter after the Enterprise-Journal and Jackson media stations published surveillance footage photos of the pair taken at Wal-Mart in McComb.
Sullivan said the women would typically operate in groups of two or three and target unsuspecting shoppers and employees at local retail stores, such as Walmart, in Pike and Lincoln counties.
Women who carry their purses inside a shopping cart often fell prey to the scheme.
One of the thieves would distract the shopper to draw his or her attention away from the shopping cart while the other thief sneaked up and snatched the purse from behind.
The earliest reports of the ruse date back to June. Detectives could not give an exact number but said the thieves racked up thousands of dollars in fraudulent credit card purchases.
The scheme reportedly also stretched into parts of Louisiana.
Sullivan said Calvin will likely face additional counts of credit card fraud once prosecutors present the case to a grand jury. She also could be charged under state organized crime laws.
She was released from the Pike County jail Tuesday on a $10,000 bond.
Police have issued a warrant for Carter, who is still at-large.
