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The account owner called Darien Police on Nov. 13 to report that someone had used her card without her permission five days earlier. She had used the self-checkout lane at the Heights Road Stop & Shop to buy groceries and had forgotten to close out the transaction, she told police.
When she checked her bank statement, she found that someone had taken $176.72 in cash from the machine using her debit card, according to the police report.
The store’s video surveillance system showed a man taking cash from the checkout immediately after the woman but before buying his own groceries, police said. The suspect used his own Stop & Shop card in the purchase, which police traced to Marc Minella, 36, of Hollow Tree Ridge Road, according to police reports.
Minella later admitted to police that he made the withdrawal, police said. He was arrested on a warrant on Jan. 6 and charged with sixth-degree larceny and credit card fraud. He was released after posting $250 bond, and is due in court on Jan. 16.
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