A Palm Coast woman was arrested last week after identifying herself as the suspect in a credit card theft. 19-year-old Brynn Gifford is accused of stealing a credit card left at a local business by a senior.
The victim was at Palm Nails, near the Island Walk Publix location on Palm Coast Parkway. On August 9th, she reported to deputies that she’d accidentally left her card behind three days prior. She said that since losing it, she’d seen ten fraudulent charges logged at different stores and restaurants around town. She’d been charged over $500.
Finding a Suspect
An investigation was launched by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s General Assignment Unit. They were able to come across surveillance footage in the nail business from multiple of the stores where the card had been used. A white female was identified as the suspect. She appeared to have long, dark hair and was shown wearing a white camouflage jacket.
On September 23rd, the FCSO posted a picture of the suspect to social media asking for the public’s help in identifying her. The photo showed the suspect walking in front of the camera with her hood up, browsing on her phone with grocery bags in her other arm. That post would prove useful to detectives.
Brynn Gifford Contacts the FCSO
Later that day, Brynn Gifford reportedly contacted the FCSO saying she was the individual in the surveillance photo. She requested that she be allowed to speak with the detectives who were investigating the case.
Gifford met with detectives at the FCSO’s District 2 office on Old Kings Road in Palm Coast. She was said to have told deputies at first that she hadn’t done anything wrong. After that statement, detectives are then said to have shown Gifford images of her at Walmart using the stolen card to purchase notebooks and pens. At this point Gifford reportedly admitted that it was her in the photos. She later showed detectives those very notebooks and pens in her backpack that she’d brought with her.
It became apparent in the investigation that Gifford worked at Palm Nails as a receptionist. Detectives concluded that it had indeed been her who’d stolen the credit card and used it for fraudulent purchases.
Warrant and Arrest
An arrest warrant was finally obtained on October 15th. Gifford has been charged with fraudulent usage of personal identification of a person over 60, fraudulent usage of a credit card more than two times in six months, and petty theft.
The FCSO Fugitive Unit helped locate Gifford in Daytona Beach. She was arrested by the Daytona Beach Police Department and booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on an out-of-county warrant on October 16th. She posted her $4,000 bond soon thereafter.
“This case is a great example of the power of social media and how it can help law enforcement,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “Less than a day after we posted the suspect’s photo looking for more information, she came forward to speak to our detectives. Of course, her bad decision landed her in jail on multiple felony charges, but at least she ultimately did the right thing, because our detectives would’ve caught her sooner or later.”
