For the second time this year, the Slidell Police Department has made an arrest in an identity theft case.

Frank Winfield Jr., 44, of 1617 Westminster Drive, Marrero, was arrested Aug. 12 after being spotted purchasing items with multiple gift or credit cards at the Natchez Drive Wal-Mart. According to police reports, Winfield allegedly entered the electronics department, where the store’s loss prevention officer observed him take two 32-inch high definition televisions from the shelf and place them in his buggy.

From there, Winfield proceeded to the video games section, where he reportedly asked the clerk for 10 copies of the “Madden ‘09” PlayStation video game.

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The clerk was instructed to ring the items up separately. Winfield is said to have used four different gift or credit cards to pay for the televisions, which came to $1,136.44, and another three different gift or credit cards to pay $434.35 for the video games.

Suspicions aroused, the loss prevention officer immediately notified Slidell Police.

“When someone uses several cards at one time, especially if one or two get declined, that’s a red flag,” said Capt. Kevin Foltz, police department spokesman. “Especially when he pulled these big TVs right off the shelf and didn’t even look at them.”

Detectives Robert Chadwick III and Mario Arthur responded, and followed Winfield as he left the store, stopping him after he failed to use a turn signal. Detectives discovered he had 22 different credit and gift cards in his possession, as well as two separate identification cards, one from Louisiana with the Marrero address and one from Texas with an Arlington address. Slidell Police Chief Freddy Drennan said the case is similar to one that occurred in May, in which even though the cards appear to be gift cards on the face, the magnetic strip on the back of the card is encoded with a credit card number.

“All of these accounts belonged to individuals residing in Orange County, Calif.,” said Drennan. “The suspect also had with him a list of at least 30 names and credit card numbers, so there’s a real possibility more charges could be added.”

Drennan went on to note the scope of this type of identity theft, calling it a “huge” problem. He said there is no evidence as yet linking Winfield to the earlier case, but Drennan has no doubt Winfield had accomplices.

“The Secret Service will be looking for a common denominator,” Drennan said. “All of the actual credit cards were issued from the same bank, so it could be someone at the bank, or in a nearby hotel or restaurant.”

Foltz and Drennan praised the actions of the store’s loss prevention officer, saying they could not give him enough kudos. The officers are encouraging other business owners and retail workers to step up their efforts in spotting suspicious activity.

A booklet aimed at helping both consumers and businesses address the problem, “Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft,” is available at 1-877-ID-THEFT or online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

With the Secret Service involved, it’s likely Winfield will receive federal charges. For now, he has been charged with identity theft, theft over $500 by fraud, bank fraud, 15 counts of access device fraud, as well as failure to signal a turn and driving under a suspended license. If convicted on all counts, Winfield could face up to 100 years in jail, as well as fines of more than $100,000. He has been transported to the St. Tammany Parish Jail, where he is being held on a $100,000 bond.