Two officers charged in identity theft

Two corrections officers from the Central Booking and Intake Center were arrested yesterday and charged with stealing credit cards of people under arrest.

Lontona Maria Webb, 38, of the 3600 block of Clarinth Road and Latoya Renee James, 24, of the 1300 block of Dalton Road each face multiple counts of credit card fraud, identity theft and misconduct in office, according to charging documents.

In addition, Webb's boyfriend, Michael Moore, 26, also of the 3600 block of Clarinth Road, was charged with multiple offenses in connection with the scheme that police say defrauded eight victims of more than $5,000. Authorities would not specify the victims' alleged losses.

The economic crimes division of the state's attorney's office - which has been investigating the case since February - focused on the three after complaints from numerous detainees about their credit cards being stolen while they were held at Central Booking.

The three were indicted by a grand jury Thursday. The corrections officers worked the same shift at Central Booking.

During a search of Moore's and Webb's homes, police reportedly recovered credit cards of people who had been detained at Central Booking. Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore state's attorney's office, said that more victims are likely "forthcoming" as the investigation continues.

Moore and James are being held on $100,000 bond each, and Webb on $50,000 bond. Arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 21.

Although details of the scheme are scant - Central Booking officials say they are prohibited from providing details while the investigation continues - the credit cards were stolen from detainees between November 2006 and March 2007. Court documents also show that both women worked at Central Booking when the victims claimed that their credit cards were stolen.

Nicholas Panteleakis, 34, a city public defender, said that his credit card was used to make nearly $1,000 in fraudulent purchases at McDonald's, Target and a gas station.

Panteleakis said that his credit card company took care of all of the fraudulent charges. Another alleged victim, a 26-year-old Elkridge man who was arrested for DUI in February, wasn't as lucky recouping his losses.

The man, who declined to be identified, said that his bank refunded $180 spent at a gas station and a Home Depot but that he had to pay $96 in nonsufficient-funds fees that resulted from the card charges.

The Sun detailed Panteleakis' claims of fraud at Central Booking in February. At that time, Panteleakis said he discovered that someone had used his credit card within six hours of his release from Central Booking. He said he believes the card was stolen after his wallet was checked as property at the facility when he was arrested on one count of loitering, a charged later dropped. He immediately canceled his credit card.

"If it wasn't for my access to the media and other avenues, I don't think anything would have become of it," he said. "People would still be having their stuff stolen from them."

Benjamin Brown, assistant commissioner for the Maryland Division of Pretrial Detention and Services, which operates Central Booking, said that his division has acted swiftly to deal with the allegations.

Webb was fired from her position at Central Booking in March, and James has been placed on administrative leave pending completion of an investigation, Brown said.

Security cameras also have been installed at the facility since the allegations, Brown said. The scheme is the first of its kind at Central Booking, he said.

"We get very, very few complaints of lost or stolen property, given the high volume of bookings processed each year," said Brown, referring to the 95,000 people detained annually.