A St. Paul man suspected in the violent home invasion robbery of a 75-year-old woman was charged Wednesday with using credit cards belonging to the woman and a second victim.
Deandre V. Wims, 25, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count of financial transaction card fraud.
Authorities believe he obtained the credit cards in the Jan. 2 robbery of the Maplewood woman who was bound and then choked into unconsciousness, and the December burglary of a different, unoccupied home. Both townhomes are in the 1700 block of Gervais Avenue.
Wims and a second man allegedly used the woman's credit card about an hour and 40 minutes after police arrived at her home to investigate the incident.
According to the criminal complaint: Wims and a second man were captured by surveillance video on Dec. 27 at Macy's in the Maplewood Mall. The men tried to charge $254.60 worth of clothing on a credit card taken from the December burglary.
On Dec. 28, surveillance video from the Discount Liquor store in Maplewood showed someone matching Wims' description trying to use a credit card from the December burglary. The transaction was declined, and the man took out cash to make his purchase.
Wims and the same man from the Macy's incident were again captured by surveillance video at the same store on Jan. 2. This time, the complaint said, they used the woman's credit card to buy $231.27 worth of clothing.
All three surveillance videos showed Wims using the stolen cards, according to the complaint. The credit card stolen in December was also used on Dec. 27 at the Gas Hopper Station in North St. Paul, Burlington Coat Factory and McDonald's.
