A Biddeford man lured a woman from Ohio to Maine with her three children, then stole her credit card and abandoned her, police say.
James A. Stone, 45, of 63 Bradbury St., was arrested Wednesday on several outstanding warrants, police said in a news release.
James A. Stone
Biddeford police received a 911 call around 11 a.m. Wednesday from a 23-year-old woman who told them she had dropped off her boyfriend at a bank on Main Street that morning and had not seen him since.
The woman said she had her three children in her vehicle, but was worried about running out of gas while waiting for the man, whom she had not seen since 9 a.m.
Based on her description, police arrested Stone, whose outstanding warrants included receiving stolen property in Gretna, Louisiana; fraud in Erie, Pennsylvania; felony theft by deception in Biddeford; and a parole violation in Topeka, Kansas. Because of the out-of-state warrants, he was charged with being a fugitive from justice. , Biddeford police also charged him with two felony theft counts.
Police say this is the second time Stone has used social media and online dating sites to establish relationships with women, lure them to Maine and take cash and credit cards from them.
He is being held at the York County Jail in Alfred, where he is also awaiting extradition to Kansas.
He has prior convictions for theft, receiving stolen property, forgery and fraud in Kansas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, South Dakota, Washington and Ohio.
Biddeford police contacted the woman’s family in Ohio to help her and her children return there.
CORRECTION: This story was updated at 10:52 a.m. on Feb. 25, 2017 to correct the woman’s age.
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