Photo / Hamilton County Jail
A Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest Tuesday of a Cincinnati man who allegedly went on a multi-county credit-card-theft spree.
James Barton, 23, is accused of stealing credit cards from medical facilities in Warren, Butler, Clinton, Montgomery and Hamilton counties and then using them to buy expensive electronics, according to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
The cards were stolen from unattended purses of patients as well as employees of hospitals and medical facilities in Mason, Oxford, Kettering, West Chester and Deerfield Township, said Warren County Sheriff’s Detective Susan Horne.
Some of the thefts occurred in what are supposed to be secure areas of the facilities, she said. Barton is not believed to have a job that would give him special access in any of those places, said Horne.
Barton allegedly used the stolen cards to buy expensive electronics in big-box retail stores such as Walmart, Target and Meijer, Horne said.
Investigators believe Barton is responsible for four incidents in Warren County, including thefts from Springdale Mason Pediatrics in Mason. In Warren County, Barton will be charged with several counts of forgery, misuse of a credit card, receiving stolen property and theft.
Barton is being held at the Hamilton County Jail as “numerous” other agencies in the five counties are compiling criminal charges, said Horne. Barton may also face charges in Northern Kentucky, she said.
Horne has some advice to other businesses to avoid becoming a victim.
“Employees need to make sure they’re aware of who’s walking around in what are supposed to be secure areas,” she said.
Janice Morse contributed to this story.
