Queens man arrested on petty larceny charges, police say
A Rosedale, Queens, man was arrested Sunday after he attempted to use a fraudulent credit card to buy gift cards at an Applebee's restaurant in Westbury, only to be foiled by an alert employee, police said.
DJeffry N. Louis, 21, of 245-17 Newhall Ave., was charged with nine counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument and one count of petty larceny after his arrest at the restaurant on Corporate Drive at about 6:40 p.m.
Police said Louis entered the restaurant and attempted to buy four $100 gift cards using a Discover card that a store employee found "suspicious."
The credit card company was contacted, as were the police. Police said that, after his arrest at Applebee's, investigators found Louis in possession of four $100 Benihana gift cards purchased about one hour earlier in Westbury using the same Discover card.
Louis was arraigned Monday in First District Court in Hempstead. His bail was set at $5,000 bond or $2,500 cash. It was not immediately clear Monday afternoon if he had an attorney.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
Remembering Challenger disaster 40 years later ... LI Works: Keeping ice rink nice ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
Remembering Challenger disaster 40 years later ... LI Works: Keeping ice rink nice ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
