Pa. mother, daughter charged in credit card theft

May 03, 2005|by DON AINES

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The mother of a woman charged last week with stealing and using the credit card of a patient at Chambersburg Hospital now has been charged in the crime, according to borough police.

Vonnie Stopyra, 65, of 815 S. Fifth St., has been charged with forgery, access device fraud and criminal conspiracy, police said. She was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Gary Carter on Friday and jailed on $25,000 bail, police said.

Karen L. Beam, 48, of the same address, was charged on April 26, with burglary, theft, forgery, three counts of access device fraud and 11 counts of attempted access device fraud, police said.

Police allege Beam stole the wallet of a 79-year-old patient while he was asleep in his hospital room on April 21. The wallet contained two credit cards, an ATM card and $52 in cash, according to police.

The same day, the credit cards was used to purchase $591.43 in merchandise at Kmart in Chambersburg and to get $640 in cash advances at two ATMs, police said. Several other unsuccessful attempts also were made to get money from ATM machines, police said.

Kmart employees gave police descriptions of two women who made the purchases and Beam was identified from a photo lineup on April 25, police said. Beam's and Stopyra's home was searched the next day, and merchandise and sales receipts were seized, police said.

Beam was not home at the time, but was taken into custody later on April 26, police said.

Police allege Stopyra was the other woman in Kmart with Beam on April 21. Beam told employees the credit card belonged to her father and he allowed her to use the card.

Beam and Stopyra were still in Franklin County Prison Monday, according to a prison official.

Beam and Stopyra earlier were charged by Chambersburg and Pennsylvania State Police with the theft of packages delivered to doorsteps at homes in Chambersburg and Greene Township in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Another woman, Cindy Hykes, 32, of 402 Martina Drive, also was charged in connection with the package thefts, according to records in Franklin County Court.

All three women are scheduled to have their cases heard on those charges during the July trial term, according to court records.

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