A White Bear Lake woman allegedly stole thousands of dollars from her neighbors by taking credit cards and checks from them, according to charges filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court.
Jeanette Carter, also known as Jeanette Walton and Jeanette Hightower, was charged with first-degree burglary, financial transaction card fraud and possession or sale of stolen or counterfeit checks.
Carter, 34, denied ever going into her neighbors’ homes and said that it probably just looked as though she was entering their houses while moving packages from the front of their homes to the back, to prevent them from being stolen, according to the criminal complaint.
According to the complaint:
• On Dec. 20 and Dec. 22, Carter entered the home of her neighbor “EE” without permission and stole credit cards, which she used to make purchases of $1,085 and $981 from Marshalls stores on Dec. 23.
Carter later blamed her use of the credit cards on a friend, whom she referred to as “Jennifer Lawrence” and “Laura” while speaking with police on different occasions. When reminded that she had previously referred to “Laura” using a different name, Carter said that the friend also went by the name “Kimberly,” the charges said.
• On Dec. 31, Carter’s neighbor “MD” reported a burglary. Two checks had previously been removed from a checkbook in MD’s office desk and cashed by Carter for $500 each at two separate banks in Minneapolis on Dec. 22.
When asked about the checks, Carter said that she found them in her mailbox and assumed they were a Christmas gift from the neighbor, the complaint said.
• On Jan. 5, officers executing a search warrant at Carter’s home found two checks belonging to a woman identified as “CK,” who had reported that her home had been burglarized while she was in the hospital.
One of the checks had been issued to “Jeanette Walton” for $500 and another was written to the Pain Clinic of Minnesota for $200. In the memo line, the check noted that the money was intended to pay for Carter’s visit to the doctor there.
Carter told police that CK was a friend of hers “who wanted to help her out. Carter also told police that she did not have CK’s contact information and that she didn’t give CK permission for police to speak to her, the charges said.
• During the Jan. 5 search, police also found a check that had been written out to a woman identified as “KM.” The check had been stolen from KM’s wallet on Dec. 10 while she was attending her mother’s funeral at a church near Carter’s home, KM told police.
Carter told police she found the check in her residence when she moved in, according to the complaint.
Carter’s bail was set at $50,000 Friday and her first appearance is scheduled for Monday afternoon.