INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 26-year-old who deputies said took his uncle’s bank card and withdrew more than $5,000 total from two ATM’s while the man was in a nursing home, was arrested Thursday.
The 63-year-old uncle tried to get money out of his account to pay for medications after his release from the nursing home in late April, deputies said. The man discovered he had a zero balance, reports show.
The uncle told deputies he thought his bank card was in his wallet, which also contained his PIN number.
Deputies arrested Jerome Lester Jr., a former civilian corrections assistant at the Indian River County Jail, on five counts of criminal use of personal identification information. Lester was released Thursday from the jail on $25,000 bond.
Florida law prevents the release of Lester’s booking photo and address because he was a former civilian law enforcement employee. Lester worked at the county jail from Feb. 2018 through Jan. 2019, which is when he resigned, Indian River County sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers said.
Lester’s uncle contacted deputies and said someone took out large amounts of money from his bank account while he was at Sea Breeze Rehabilitation & Nursing Center from mid-December to late April. The uncle said he had more than $5,000 missing from his MidFlorida Federal Credit Union account, reports show.
The man’s bank statements showed most of the transactions occurred at two locations. The locations were the credit union bank ATM, 2800 20th Street, and a Publix supermarket ATM, 4145 9th Street Southwest.
Deputies reviewed surveillance footage involving the bank card at the two ATM locations. Deputies spotted a man, later identified as Lester, using the card in several transactions, reports show.
The uncle identified Lester as his nephew after deputies showed him surveillance footage of the suspect. The uncle said Lester did not have permission to use his bank card, reports show.
It was unclear if the money was recovered.
Deputies arrested Lester and took him to the county jail. Lester has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. August 2, court records show.
