A Duchesne County couple with a history of criminal behavior and theft, allegedly stole a debit card from a mailbox this fall and went on a two week long shopping spree. According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, the victim noticed her checking account had gone into a negative balance and discovered a long list of fraudulent charges. She gave law enforcement her bank statement reflecting the fraudulent charges and detectives were able to obtain security camera footage from several of the locations where the card was used. The individuals using the card were identified in the video footage as Darci Gernhardt and Russell Sweat who were noted as living together in a dating relationship. Gerndardt and Sweat were interviewed by the Sheriff’s Office and they claimed the card had been given to them by an individual they were unsure of the name of and that the individual was with them when the card was used. The video evidence did not show a third person with them when making purchases with the card. The pair spent over $1,500 dollars over about two weeks. Russell Sweat was arrested and booked into Duchesne County Jail for 16 felony counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card and 16 misdemeanor counts of theft. Sweat was on parole with the state prison when he committed the offenses.
