A Seminole County Sheriff’s Office employee was arrested on charges of fraudulently using a credit card that he stole from an inmate, investigators said.
Luis Rodriguez, 59, is accused of stealing a woman’s credit card while she was incarcerated May 10 at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Seminole County.
The woman was released from the correctional facility about eight hours after her arrest, and told the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office that her credit card had been taken from her wallet while she was in jail.
The woman told deputies that she noticed suspicious charges on her credit card, including one at a Deltona gas station while she was in custody. The other two charges were at a Deltona car wash.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation and obtained video of Rodriguez making a transaction with the credit card at the car wash.
The woman watched the footage and recognized the man as an employee at the correctional facility.
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office administrators reviewed the video and verified to Volusia County investigators that the culprit in the video was Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was arrested Tuesday at his Deltona home and was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. He is being held on $5,000 bail.
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office investigators said they served Rodriguez with a notice initiating the termination of his employment.
“We adhere to the highest standards in our correctional facility, and we have absolutely no tolerance for this type of behavior,” said Seminole County Sheriff Donald Eslinger. “I am shocked and extremely disappointed. These actions go against everything we stand for as an agency.”
Rodriguez has been employed by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office as a civilian detention service officer since 2010 and was responsible for collecting and storing inmates’ personal property while they were incarcerated at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility.
Cox Media Group
