Salem Residents Busted for Sears, Kmart Fraud

Two individuals were arrested Wednesday for felony credit card fraud after they allegedly stole a 69-year-old woman's credit card and made over $2,200 in purchases at local Sears and Kmart stores.

Kaitlyn Johnson, 21, and Shane Sullivan, 24, both of Salem, were each arrested on warrants for one count of credit card fraud after police used store surveillance footage to verify they made the purchases, according to Salem Deputy Police Chief Shawn Patten.

Patten said the investigation began on Sept. 21 when the 69-year-old victim reported her Sears and Kmart credit card "was missing" and has been "used for numerous purchases" at the stores since Sept. 18.

The woman told police that she believed the suspects were "possibly" the two people "living in her house," according to Patten. Police used that information to issue an alert Wednesday, after which they located the vehicle in which Johnson and Sullivan used to drive over to Sears to make additional purchases.

Police arrested Johnson and Sullivan after finding the suspects in the store.

Both suspects were released on $2,500 personal recognizance bail, and both are scheduled for arraignment in Salem District Court in December, according to Patten.