Two men from New York City were arrested in Biddeford on Saturday after a cabdriver suspected they were using fraudulent credit cards to make numerous high-value purchases at various department stores and called police.

Arrested were Shaquille O. Francis and Khadir W. Howard, both 21 and from Queens.

Police were called to the Target department store in Biddeford about 10:54 a.m. Saturday by a cabdriver who had driven the men to department stores in South Portland, Falmouth, Westbrook and Biddeford, and suspected they may have been using stolen credit cards.

The driver said the men had bought a Sony Playstation 4 and multiple games, several Apple watches and several iPads, and paid for the cab fare with the same questionable credit cards.

When officers arrived to confront them, the men ran away, but were apprehended at the Biddeford Crossing Shopping Plaza.

Police found the men with multiple credit cards, seven Visa gift cards, an Amazon gift card and a Best Buy gift card.

Both men arrived in Maine Friday evening on a flight to the Portland International Jetport, police said.

Francis was charged with refusing to submit to arrest, theft by deception and misuse of identification, and held in the York County Jail on $35,000 cash bail.

Howard was charged with refusing to submit to arrest, possession of marijuana, misuse of identification, theft by deception and being a fugitive from justice on outstanding charges from Virginia, where he is wanted on eight counts of grand larceny and four counts of credit card fraud. Howard was held on $75,000 cash bail at the York County Jail.


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