Published: January 26, 2008 12:13 am      

Police arrest two on felony theft charges

Two women were arrested Thursday on various theft-related offenses, both involving theft by unlawful taking over $300, which is a felony crime.

Lexington resident Sherry Lynn Short, 37, and Richmond resident Hannah Pingleton, 36, were taken into custody by the Richmond Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division.

Police began investigating Short earlier this month, when her employer, Lifemist Home Products LLC, reported her for misappropriating funds. Lifemist is based in Richmond.

The investigation determined that Short had pilfered $15,000 to $20,000 from the company, according to police.

She was charged with one count of theft by unlawful taking over $300 and 16 counts of second-degree forgery, all of which are felony offenses.

Short also was arrested in 2007 on charges of theft of identity and fraudulent use of a credit card following an investigation that began in June, 2007.

According to police, Short applied for a credit card by using a local business owner’s name, and later used the card to charge $750.

She also used a false name to apply for student loans. Both acts resulted in felony charges.

In an unrelated case, Pingleton was arrested for reportedly opening five credit card accounts between July 2007 and January 2008 using another person’s identity.

Police said she charged about $2,000 on the card, and withdrew $2,600 from that person’s savings account.

The victim is medically incapacitated, according to police.

Pingleton was charged with three counts of theft by unlawful taking over $300, and five counts of identity theft, both of which are felony offenses.

One of the best ways to protect yourself from credit card or identity fraud is to take advantage of free credit reports, said Willard Reardon, Richmond police public affairs officer.

“If there’s something suspicious on your credit report, you can catch it ahead of time,” he said. “I think the most important thing is to make sure you check your credit at least once a year.”

Committing credit card fraud can be as easy as opening a mailbox, Reardon said, referring to the pre-approved credit cards that are distributed to millions of Americans each year.

“If someone was to get that out of your mailbox, it wouldn’t be that hard to activate it,” he said. “I would suggest that people get their mail daily and write those (credit card) companies and tell them to take you off the mailing list. There are some little things you can do to help protect yourself.”

Both women are lodged in the Madison County Detention Center. Short has a bond of $10,000 cash and Pingleton’s bond has been set at $2,500 cash.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.