Busy Day in Court: Malvern Rx Fraud and East Whiteland Credit Scam

On a typical day, District Court 15-2 might have five cases on the docket. On Wednesday, there were more than a dozen. Among the serious issues before the court were two from East Whiteland and Malvern. One lesson to be learned from them: Don't sign your real name when paying with a stolen credit card.

• An arraignment date was set for Philadelphia resident Latisha Rice, 25, who is charged with stealing a woman's credit card at the Wegmans Pub in East Whiteland on Oct. 6, 2010.
  
  The hearing almost didn't take place; the district attorney requested a continuance because a key witness, the credit card's real owner, had not been notified of the court date and was not present. Judge Chester Darlington expressed frustration at the waste of time and money expended to transport the defendant from a Delaware County jail, where she is facing charges.
  
  "I am not a happy camper," Darlington said as he pounded his desk before pulling both councilors and East Whiteland Police Sgt. Pat Mitchell into chambers. When they returned, the hearing proceeded without the victim, centering on still frames from surveillance video and the receipt signature.
  
  "[The video showed] her and a companion entering the pub at Wegmans and taking up seats behind the victim," Sgt. Mitchell said. "As he removes his jacket, he reaches his arm back and snatches her wallet."
  
  According to police, the defendant then headed across the parking lot and purchased $1,000 worth of gift cards from Target using the stolen credit card and signing her own last name on the receipt.
  
  The defense argued that the pixelated images did not provide sufficient identification to proceed to trial, but the judge considered it a question for a jury. Rice faces charges including forgery, theft, identity theft and conspiracy, and she will be arraigned April 21.
  
  As the judge banged the gavel, the defendant pleaded that it wasn't her on the tape, saying "I know who that girl is."
  
  
• Phyllis Spruell, 48, a Philadelphia resident, appeared before the court for a hearing on charges related to prescription fraud. According to police, she obtained 90 oxycodone pills from Kohlerman Pharmacy on West King Street in Malvern using a fraudulent prescription.
  
  The pharmacist, Charles Kohlerman Jr., testified that at approximately 6 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2010, Spruell entered the store with a prescription written out by a Dr. David Sass. Kohlerman asked for her identification and received a Pennsylvania state ID card that appeared valid.
  
  The coding on the prescription also appeared genuine, he said, and it was too late in the evening to contact the doctor. But he was suspicious while he spoke with her during the 10 to 15 minutes it took to fill the prescription.
  
  "She said she was at Boston Market [in Paoli]," Kohlerman said. "She would have had to pass several other pharmacies" before reaching his location.
  
  As she left the pharmacy, Kohlerman went outside to write down her license plate number. Soon after, he saw a Malvern Police car in the parking lot and waved down Officer John McNamee, who took the report.
  
  Malvern Police Sgt. Lloyd Douglas took over the investigation. He contacted Dr. Sass, who said Spruell was not a patient and he did not write the prescription. Spruell, who has charges pending in Delaware County, had bail set at $2,500 and was given an April arraignment date.