On Friday, May 26, 2017, at approximately 9:30 A.M., the Smithfield Police charged Elba F. Rodriguez-Lantiqua, age 19, of 430 Prairie Avenue Providence with Identity Fraud, seven (7) counts of Obtaining Money under False Pretenses and as a Fugitive From Justice.
On May 4, 2016, the Smithfield Police received a complaint from Kohl’s Loss Prevention, advising that on April 25, 2016 and on April 29, 2016, a female entered there store and made seven transactions over a period of one-hour, purchasing gift cards totaling $696.99 and $953.29, respectively. This female, later identified as Elba Rodriguez-Lantiqua, used the identity of a female from California to make the fraudulent purchases. The Smithfield Police subsequently obtained an arrest warrant for Ms. Rodriguez-Lantiqua.
On Friday, May 26, 2017, Elba Rodriguez-Lantiqua was picked up by the Rhode Island State Police and turned over the Smithfield Police based on the Smithfield arrest warrant. At the time of her arrest in RI, she was wanted out of Hingham Massachusetts on a Larceny charge. Ms. Rodriguez-Lantiqua was taken to Kent County Court in Warwick, where she appeared before the Honorable Judge Elaine T. Bucci. No plea was entered and she was released on $10,000 bail with surety. Ms. Rodriguez-Lantiqua is next scheduled to appear on August 23, 2017, to answer the charges.