Crime Report: Retail Fraud, Indecent Exposure and Attempted Purse Snatching at Twelve Oaks Mall

A man was arrested on charges of retail fraud of the second degree after he was seen leaving a store without paying for a pair of jeans and found with several fraudulent credit cards Dec. 20 at .

The man first went to the , where the manager said the man came to the store three times to try to pay for an iPad with several credit cards, according to the report. All but one of the cards was declined. Around 3:30 p.m., the manager issued a forced referral for the transaction, meaning the card number had to be called in via telephone for approval, and it was approved. The man left the store with the iPad, but the manager advised Twelve Oaks loss-prevention officials of the incident and that he was suspicious of the amount of credit cards the man had.

The man then went to around 5:30 p.m. Nordstrom’s loss-prevention officer watched the man since he was alerted by Twelve Oaks security that the man was under suspicion. The man attempted to pay for jeans and a shirt with several credit cards, but all of them were declined. The clerk put the merchandise on the top shelf and left the area. A short time later, the man returned to get the $300 jeans and concealed them in his bag, the report said. The loss-prevention officer stopped the man when he left the store and called the Novi police.

The police found three pieces of different IDs on the man and nine credit cards. All of the credit cards matched a driver’s license he had from Pennsylvania. The man later admitted that he bought the Pennsylvania ID and credit cards online for $200, the report said. The man was later identified as a 24-year-old man from Detroit.

Indecent exposure

A woman called Novi Police at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 19 after she saw a man completely naked and masturbating drive past her while she was walking in the parking lot on the east side of Twelve Oaks Mall, according to a police report. The woman said the man was white, is approximately 30-40 years old, and was driving a black Ford Mustang without a license plate, the report said. According to the police report, the police received a similar report the week before of a man with the same description. The police were unable to locate the suspect or find him on Twelve Oaks’ surveillance.

Attempted robbery in the parking lot

A woman said another woman tried to steal her purse in the parking lot of Twelve Oaks Mall at 8:45 a.m. Dec. 20, according to a police report. The complainant said she parked between the lower level of and the food court at 8:30 a.m., went into J.C. Penney and returned at 8:45 a.m. to put packages in her trunk, the report said. According to the report, a female then tapped her on the shoulder and said she thought she might have damage done to her car. When the complainant bent over to look for the damage, the other woman grabbed her purse and tried to take it, the report said. According to the report, the first woman pulled back and got away; she then got in her car and drove away, and the other woman walked away, she told police. The police were unable to see the complainant's car on surveillance, and the suspect was not found.

If you have questions about this blotter, contact Editor Rebecca Jaskot at rebecca.jaskot@patch.com.