SPOKANE, Wash. – A 43-year-old woman was sentenced in Spokane County Superior Court Friday to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree identity theft and second-degree possession of stolen property.
According to the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Crystal Blyman stole unattended wallets and purses from office employees at several medical clinics around the Spokane area, then used credit cards and gift cards from the stolen wallets and purses to purchase items at retail outlets. Authorities reported that Blyman’s purchasing spree reached thousands of dollars in total cost.
Court documents revealed that Blyman was caught after one victim received an alert from her credit card company about a “large pending purchase” and tracked Blyman to a store. The victim identified Blyman using the store’s surveillance video, at which point the suspect was already attempting to use the victim’s credit card at a different store…