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Highlands Today

Woman Accused Of Cell Phone Theft

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: August 21, 2008

  Stephanie Black

SEBRING - A Sebring woman was free Tuesday on $2,000 bail after sheriff's deputies conducting a "warrant-less search" of her home because her husband was on probation, found 24 cell phones, at least three belonging to her former employer at AT&T Wireless.

Stephanie Ann Black, 32, also known as Stephanie Ann Coleman, of 9615 Ruby Lane, Sebring, was arrested on warrants on charges of grand theft $300 or more but less than $5,000 and scheming to defraud - swindle - obtaining property valued at less than $20,000.

On May 20, deputies went to 3215 Jacklin Ave., Sebring, along with the Department of Probation and Parole and conducted a surprise search of the home of Donald Black, who shared the residence with his wife, Stephanie Black, the arrest report stated.

She appeared nervous, and told deputies that she knew they had found a duffel bag containing some cell phones. Black said she had gotten the phones legitimately and was simply given them away to people who needed them, the report stated.

The report also noted that Black had been employed at AT&T Wireless, located at 1310 U.S. 27 N., in Sebring, and was owned by the victim, Rizwan Hussain.

Inside the pink duffel bag, which Black pulled from a shelf in the master bedroom, deputies found first six phones in plastic bags, each with a charger. As they looked more they found 18, more bags with phones and chargers, "as if for individual sale," Criminal Investigations Det. Roger St. Laurent noted.

Black reportedly first said they were given to her by AT&T Wireless customers.

Hussain told investigators the phones were returned by customers for new ones or a trade and were the property of AT&T Wireless.

At the time of the report, at least three of the telephones were confirmed to have belonged to established customers of AT&T Wireless, the report stated. Those telephones were valued at about $300.

The report stated that Black told investigators she would sell them for $30 to $50 as opposed to the $400 AT&T Wireless would sell them for. It was estimated that Black had cost the company more than several hundred dollars in business.

"This was a systematic pattern of behavior conducted within the period of approximately one year to defraud AT&T Wireless," St. Laurent wrote in his report.

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