Grandma's Credit Card Paid for $2,000 Drug Binge, Police Say

A Fountain Hill man has been charged by Bethlehem police with using his elderly grandmother’s credit card to finance a weeklong heroin binge, according to court records.

Angelo Villamil Jr., 31, of 831 Cherokee St., was charged with forgery and access device fraud, both felonies, on Monday. He was already being held at Lehigh County Prison on a retail theft charge and a parole detainer, according to the arrest affidavit.

Villamil allegedly took his grandmother’s Sears MasterCard and spent it at places like Gaugler’s Jewelers, JC Jewelry & Gifts and the Comfort Suites Hotel, racking up about $2,000 in charges from Oct. 1-7, police said.

The fraudulent purchases were reported to police on Feb. 6 by Angelo Villamil Sr., the victim’s son and the defendant’s father.

Confronted by police at Lehigh County Prison, Villamil admitted that he had taken and used the credit card and signed a written statement with the admission, according to the affidavit.

This is the second time in the past week that a local person has been charged with stealing from their own grandmother. On Thursday, Nicole Kathleen Werner of Bethlehem was charged with stealing about $9,000 worth of fine jewelry from her grandmother in Bethlehem Township.

Villamil told police that he was financing a “drug binge,” and was addicted to heroin.

A search of criminal court records reveals that Villamil has been arrested numerous times before.

In June, for example, Villamil was charged with choking his fiancée to the point of unconsciousness on Mechanic Street, near his grandmother's house, in South Bethlehem.

Villamil pleaded guilty to simple assault in that case and was sentenced to 45 days to six months in prison, while a charge of aggravated assault was withdrawn.

In the credit card fraud case, Villamil was arraigned before District Judge Nancy Matos-Gonzalez, who added $25,000 to his bail amount.