McDonald's Receipt Leads Police To Mansfield Car Burglary Suspect

MANSFIELD, CT — A McDonald's receipt linked a car burglary suspect to a debit card taken from the car and it led to the arrest of an Uncasville woman in the case, a warrant says.

State police made the warrant available at the Troop C barracks this week. It shows that, on Oct. 14, 22-year-old Makayla Joann Poirier-Vaughter, of Uncasville, was charged with third-degree identity theft, collecting receipts from the illegal use of a credit card and sixth-degree larceny.

The investigation began on Sept. 22, when a resident of Mansfield City Road reported that his vehicle had been broken into and a his wallet was taken. In it were the man's work ID, his driver's license, a bank-issued debit card and a pair of Cash App cards and $200 in cash, according to a warrant. Images from a home surveillance system showed a woman breaking into the vehicle at 4:24 a.m.

Soon after, transactions on a debit car began appearing that included $6.56 from a gas station in Plainville, $72.44 from Expedia, $7.42 and $42.02 from the Chucky's at the Saver gas station on Jackson Street in Willimantic and $17.12 from a McDonald's in Windham, according to a warrant.

It was the trip to McDonald's that proved to be the undoing of Poirier-Vaughter, according to a warrant. It showed a woman similar to the one on the home surveillance system in a Lincoln pickup up food and the name on the McDonald's App for that purchase was noted as "Makayla," according to a warrant.

State police shared the images around the area and Norwich police said they recognized Poirier-Vaughter from previous brushes with the law, a warrant shows.

When state police searched the Lincoln, they found the McDonald's App receipt with "Makayla" on it sitting on the floor, according to a warrant.

An arrest warrant then followed that search warrant, state police said.