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Police say man arrested for stealing credit cards from trunk of car parked at Sweetwater Wetlands Park has done this in other parts of the state

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Julian Camilo Cardozorey, 24, was transferred to the Alachua County Jail on Saturday morning and charged with car burglary, grand theft, and fraudulent use of credit cards after allegedly taking credit and debit cards from a bag in the trunk of a car parked at Sweetwater Wetlands Park and making almost $6,000 in purchases with the cards.

The victim told the responding Gainesville Police Department officer that she had parked her car at the park to go for a walk at about 9 a.m. on August 16 and put her bag in the trunk of her car. About two hours later, as she was driving, she began receiving fraud notifications on her phone; up to that point, she had not realized that her vehicle had been broken into. She checked her bag and realized she was missing a debit card and two credit cards. By the time she canceled the cards, 46 fraudulent transactions were reportedly completed for a total of $5,932.91.

The cards were reportedly used at both Lowe’s stores in Gainesville and at the GameStop in Butler Plaza. A Loss Prevention Officer at Lowe’s reportedly provided surveillance video showing a man and woman using the cards, mainly to load up gift cards at the self-checkout registers. The video reportedly showed that both suspects were wearing hats to conceal their faces, and the man wore a sleeve on one arm, a tactic used to cover distinctive tattoos. Surveillance video outside the store reportedly showed that the suspects walked from a parking space that was off-camera in an apparent attempt to avoid capture of their tag number.

However, eye-level surveillance cameras at Lowe’s reportedly captured their faces at various locations in the store, and facial recognition technology was used to identify the man as Cardozorey. A GPD officer reported that Cardozorey is from Colombia and has a Florida ID card number but has never had an actual Florida ID or driver’s license issued to him; he also reportedly does not have a U.S. social security number but has an FBI number and an address in Homestead, FL.

Cardozorey was charged with a similar crime (vehicle burglary at a nature park, followed by credit card fraud at Lowe’s and GameStop) in Tampa on August 2.

Officers learned on September 4 that Cardozorey had been arrested in Palm Beach County on the Hillsborough County warrant, along with local charges, and Yessica Alzata Ochoa, 36, was arrested with him. Ochoa reportedly has a strong resemblance to the woman seen in the Lowe’s surveillance video.

A GPD officer traveled to the Palm Beach County jail to interview both suspects. He reported that one of Cardozorey’s arms is heavily tattooed. Post Miranda, Cardozorey declined to answer any questions.

Post Miranda, Ochoa reportedly denied everything at first, but when she saw a surveillance photo from Lowe’s showing her bicep tattoo, she started crying. She reportedly confessed to the Gainesville incident and said Cardozorey had burglarized the car while she acted as look-out. She provided accurate details including a description of the victim’s vehicle and her bag; she knew the bag was in the trunk, and she knew that Cardozorey had taken the cards but had replaced the bag in the trunk. She also knew which stores Cardozorey had gone to after the theft and what they bought.

Ochoa reportedly said she had met Cardozorey in a Miami nightclub about a month ago, and Cardozorey told her he makes a living by burglarizing vehicles and loading up gift cards. She said she reluctantly agreed to come on the Gainesville trip only because she is poor and really needed the money. She said she saw the scheme as a way to “get quick money.” She reportedly said she got to keep five $200 gift cards, and Cardozorey kept everything else. She said Cardozorey also purchased two Playstation 5 consoles at GameStop with the victim’s cards.

The officer reported that surveillance video from GameStop showed both suspects using the victim’s cards to purchase the consoles, gift cards, and various toys.

Cardozorey has eight felony convictions (none violent) and one misdemeanor conviction (none violent). He is currently on probation and has pending cases in Palm Beach and Broward counties; he has an unspecified federal criminal history. Judge Gloria Walker set bail at $150,000.

A sworn complaint has been filed against Ochoa with the same charges.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

  • “Cardozorey is from Colombia and has a Florida ID card number but has never had an actual Florida ID or driver’s license issued to him; he also reportedly does not have a U.S. social security number but has an FBI number and an address in Homestead, FL.”

    Thanks AGAIN Joke Bidumbdumb and Commie Kamala.

  • Is he illegal?
    A: yes “Cardozorey has eight felony convictions”

    — ACLUSPLCDNC 👺💩👿👹🤡

  • Tie home to a post and let the people he stole from stone him to death

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