FARMINGTON — A left-behind wallet provided two Farmington residents with a brief shopping spree Thursday afternoon — a spree that now has them facing charges.
Police have accused Joseph Buckman, 26, and Vicki Bachelder, 29, of picking up a wallet left at a local store Thursday and using the owner’s credit card to purchase items at other local businesses.
Buckman was arrested early Friday morning on charges of misuse of identification and theft of mislaid property. Bachelder faces a charge of theft of mislaid property.
It appears Buckman made the purchases, because the stolen credit card belongs to a man.
Theft of mislaid property is the charge when someone knows the item was accidentally left behind and swoops in to take it, Bonnie Pomeroy, Farmington Police Department secretary, said.
Although she didn’t have a total tally of receipts, the charge is usually one made when the amount taken is between $500 and $1,000, she said.
The report does contain a purchase receipt for over $500 in merchandise from Olympia Sports and a charge of almost $100 from Lotus Blossom, a Chinese restaurant, she said.
Apparently, the owner’s credit card company called him when several transactions were completed in a short period of time, Pomeroy said.
Store surveillance and the credit card transactions led police to the couple, she said.
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