BY KEITH EPPS

Fredericksburg police say they have obtained a warrant for a woman accused of calling a Central Park department store to complain that a store credit she had just fraudulently obtained was not being honored.

City police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said a woman entered the Kohl's store in Central Park about 12:30 p.m. Monday and picked up a coffee maker off the shelf. Bledsoe said the woman immediately took the item to the customer service desk and got a store credit instead of cash because she didn't have a receipt.

After the woman left, a loss-prevention officer became suspicious and checked the store surveillance camera. Bledsoe said he called police to report that the woman had come in empty-handed, walked directly to the coffee maker and taken it to customer service without making a purchase.

Meanwhile, the woman went to another area Kohl's and tried to use the store credit she'd just received, Bledsoe said. The credit was rejected, and the woman called the Central Park store to complain.

The call was forwarded to a loss-prevention officer, who handed the phone to city police officer Ben Johnson. Johnson, who was at the store taking a report about the theft, talked to the woman briefly before leaving to get a warrant.

Rebecca Lynn Betancourt, 25, of Fredericksburg is charged with obtaining money by false pretenses. She was not home when police went to arrest her Monday and still had not been apprehended as of Tuesday afternoon.

Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com