ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A second arrest has been made after police say a security guard at a local hospital took $100 in cash and a debit card from a patient during their stay and went on a shopping spree.
Irvin Lemorris Green, 29, who worked at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, was arrested and charged with felony fraudulent use of a credit card, the Pinellas Park Police Department said.
A second suspect, Gabriel Palmer, was arrested Saturday morning. Palmer, who is not affiliated with Bayfront Hospital, is also charged with felony fraudulent use of a credit card.
Police say the victim was involved in a crash back on Feb. 12 at the intersection of Belcher Road and 126th Avenue. During his time at the hospital, Green, who had access to the patient's personal belongings, took his cash and debit card.
The man discovered the items missing from his wallet.
The debit card was found to have been used at the Walmart Supercenter, located at 8001 U.S. Highway 19 N., with a charge of $157.31, which covered merchandise and gift cards, investigators said. Purchases were also made at another Tampa location soon after.
Security video from the Walmart showed Green accompanied by Palmer using the stolen card. Palmer also attempted to use the card at self-checkout, but the transaction was declined.
Bayfront Health released this statement regarding the security guard:
"Bayfront Health takes this allegation very seriously. We immediately launched our own internal investigation, and the individual in question is no longer employed here. We continue to cooperate with law enforcement."