Man sought in theft caught at toll booth

[TexasStooge]

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Court TV) — A financial analyst wanted for stealing $150,000 paid the price for failing to cough up $2.50 at a highway toll.

Federal investigators arrested Guillermo A. Martinez on Nov. 26 at an Annapolis, Md., toll plaza.

According to police, Martinez, 40, had told a tolltaker that he could not pay the $2.50 fee. A Maryland Transportation Authority police officer reportedly had him fill out a pledge to pay the money within 10 days. Martinez used his real name on the form.

Following standard procedure, the officer ran a name check on Martinez and discovered that his license was expired and suspended. But those were apparently the least of his problems.

The name check also revealed that Martinez was wanted by federal authorities in Philadelphia, who had issued a warrant for his arrest in September.

Martinez was accused of using a debit card to steal about $150,000 from the accounts of his employer, Hamilton Continuing Care Center, a nursing home facility. He was charged with access device fraud for allegedly using a bank card to make over 400 unauthorized withdrawals from his company's bank accounts between July 2002 and May 2003, according to authorities.

Martinez reportedly used some of that money to take two "entertainers" from a Philadelphia strip club on a trip to Miami, according to a federal indictment.

The Maryland highway stop likely will cost Martinez more than a missed toll. A police search of his 1982 Jeep reportedly uncovered a loaded 9mm handgun and four knives. He is charged with illegal gun and weapons possession.

Martinez is being held at the Jennifer Road Detention Center in Maryland on $150,000 bail. He likely will be sent to Pennsylvania to face federal charges after a hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.