Man Tried To Fraudulently Buy Jewelry Worth $5,000 In Canton: Police

CANTON, GA -- A Florida man was arrested Monday afternoon after trying to purchase more than $5,000 in jewelry using financial information that did not belong to him.

Officers with the Canton Police Department were dispatched just before noon July 31 to a report of man trying to fraudulently buy various items at Kay Jewelers, which is located in the Canton Marketplace shopping center.

As a police lieutenant arrived on the scene, he made contact with the "suspicious individual" inside the shop. the agency said. However, as the supervisor tried to speak with the male subject, he fled the store on foot and after a brief foot chase, he was located in the wooded area behind IHOP near Interstate 575

Throughout the investigation, Canton detectives learned that the male, identified as 44-year-old Joseph Vannucci of Miami, allegedly tried to make the purchase by using a victim's account and a fake out-of-state driver's license. The police department also notes he's accused of making a similar purchase at a store in Nashville, Tennesse, and "may be part of a larger fraud ring" operating in the Sunshine State.

Vannucci was charged with felony theft by deception, misdemeanor obstruction of an officer and fraudulent driver's license or identification card.

Anyone who has information about Vanucci or the alleged crimes is asked to contact the Canton Police Department at 770-720-4883 or pdinfo@cantonga.gov.

Image via Cherokee Sheriff's Office