Tampa, Florida -- Deputies responding to numerous people involved in a fight at Westfield Brandon Mall turned out to be a different story altogether.
Investigators say D'Andre Rivers' wallet and credit card were stolen from his car by a man later identified as Malik McCaully. McCaully allegedly used the credit card to purchase over $2,000 worth of items and even rented a car using Rivers' driver's license.
At this point, Rivers took matters into his own hand by contacting the rental car company and explaining that his identification was used to rent a vehicle. The rental car company gave Rivers with the contact information McCaully provided when renting the vehicle.
Rivers then called McCaully and set up a mock drug deal at the Westfield Brandon Mall. Rivers planned on using this meetup to locate the suspect and notify law enforcement.
On December 3, the meetup took place. Rivers saw McCaully walking into Macy's and called the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to alert that they were in contact.
But before deputies arrived, McCaully attempted to flee on foot. Rivers and some of his associates tackled McCaully in the parking lot and a fight broke out.
Deputies say at one point, Rivers and his friends believed McCaully had a gun, because he kept reaching for his waistband. They then tied McCaully's legs together to keep him from getting away.
Deputies responded to the fight around 3:25 p.m. McCaully was found to be in possession of Rivers' driver's license, credit card and social security card.
After being released from Tampa General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, McCaully was arrested for Grand Theft Third Degree, Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card, Criminal Use of Personal Identification and Battery.
Deputies describe McCaully as a career criminal who was most recently released from prison in August. Jail records show Rivers too, has a criminal past, although deputies do say he was a genuine victim in this case.
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