THE VILLAGES, Fla. – A 77-year-old woman showed up at the sheriff’s office early in the morning and by late afternoon, her information would lead to a much younger theft suspect’s arrest on six criminal charges.
On Jan. 8, the victim told authorities in Florida about going to dinner with her husband the previous night, arriving at approximately 7:30 p.m.
The deputy noted, “The victim advised that she left her vehicle unlocked” in the restaurant’s parking lot, and the couple victim left an hour later, at about 8:30 p.m.
“When they returned home, the victim noticed her “Las Vegas” tote bag was missing. Inside the tote bag was a small black cotton-material purse with a shoulder strap. Inside the small purse was the victim’s [bank] credit card, iPhone SE valued at approximately $450, Florida driver’s license which has her date of birth, Savannah Center name tag, and other miscellaneous items valued at approximately $50.
“The victim later checked her bank account, observing five fraudulent charges to her [bank] credit card with account [number]. One of the fraudulent charges from Walmart was for a six pack of Coca-Cola bottles, as observed on Walmart surveillance footage.”
Two charges in small amounts, for a total of almost $10, were made at Walmart at 9:04 p.m., and they were pending. A $55 transaction at a 7-Eleven at approximately 9:10 p.m. was also pending. But two more charges, at Walmart at 9:20 p.m. and 9:21 p.m., were declined.
The deputy started investigating at the Walmart, and the loss prevention associate played the video.
“While reviewing the surveillance footage,” the deputy wrote, “I observed what appeared to be a Hispanic male, approximately 5’5”, with a medium build, using the victim’s [bank] credit card multiple times at self-checkout registers.”
Then, the deputy described the suspect’s clothes, including a “black hat with a black beanie over it, and navy blue-colored gloves. The surveillance footage revealed the defendant leaving the store on a dark-colored bicycle.”
The deputy’s next stop was the 7-Eleven where a fraudulent charge was made before and after Walmart.
Video from there, the arrest report said, “revealed the defendant arriving to the store at approximately 9:09 p.m. on the same dark-colored bicycle that he was observed driving from the Walmart. The defendant entered into the store and completed a transaction with the victim’s [bank] credit card for a total of $55.62. The subject was then observed returning to his bike and leaving the premises.”
But the savvy senior victim would get another clue.
She called to say “her phone was pinging” at a shopping plaza, a few blocks away.
“While searching the area in [an] attempt to locate the victim’s cell phone,” the deputy wrote, “I was advised by an anonymous person driving by that there was a suspicious person in the parking lot, sitting down in a parking spot with a bike, and had bags around him.
“I asked the anonymous person if the subject had a gray jacket on, at which time her [sic] replied, ‘Yes.’”
The deputy reported finding Joshua Thomas Galarza “sitting next to a dark-colored bike, wearing dark-colored pants with rips in the legs, navy blue-colored gloves, and gray jacket matching the items worn on surveillance footage. The defendant had a Coca-Cola bottle in hand. The defendant had in plain view, a small black beaded purse hanging from the handlebars of his bicycle, and a white-colored sweatshirt on the ground next to him.
“The defendant had a ‘Las Vegas‘ tote bag flipped inside out, sitting next to him, along with another green tote bag. Inside the ‘Las Vegas‘ tote bag was a gold-colored ‘Sephora‘ bag. Inside the ‘Sephora‘ bag, I located the victim’s [bank] credit card with her name printed on it, her Savannah Center name tag with her name printed on it, and other miscellaneous items.”
While there, “The victim drove up in her vehicle and positively identified her gold-colored ‘Sephora‘ bag, the ‘Las Vegas‘ tote bag, and black beaded purse as hers.”
Galarza was charged with burglary, theft from a person 65 or older $300-$10,000, and fraudulent use of identifying documents. The last charge was for the “unsuccessful” transactions, and all three are felonies.
Also, for the successful transactions, Galarza was charged with three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card more than two times in six months. Ironically, they are all misdemeanors.
“A criminal history query of the defendant revealed no previous criminal convictions,” the arrest report said, but Galarza was out on bail, facing similar charges in nearby Lake County.
It would take authorities there months to solve the crime that happened in May 2024 at a Hobby Lobby store.
“The store’s bookkeeper was counting the money from the previous day,” the manager told a police officer, “when she located two $100 bills that did not feel right. [The manager] took the two bills and passed them under an ultraviolet light intended to reveal counterfeit bills, and the UV-reactive strips were not correct, indicating counterfeit bills. Additionally, both bills bore the same serial number.”
The manager checked surveillance and told the officer, “The bills were passed by two individuals in two separate transactions, although the video was clear that the two were working together. Each executed a transaction where they paid for merchandise with a counterfeit $100 bill, and received change in legitimate currency.”
The affidavit said the accomplice, who ended up arrested the same day as Galarza on the same charges, “selected three items of what looked like arts/crafts supplies on the counter totaling $21.37 and paid using a $100 bill. The cashier held the bill up to the light and placed it under the counterfeit bill detection light, and accepted it as tender, giving $78.63 in change.
“Galarza selected and purchased a lamp and what appeared to be headphones for $45.45, provided a $100 bill, which the cashier also checked in the same manner as the first, and received $54.55 in change.”
A detective got the case and distributed pictures of the suspects, and “a former coworker of the suspects positively identified them.” The caller added, “The two had been terminated from employment at Taco Bell for some questionable behavior.”
The detective, now with names, learned Galarza had been arrested in September 2024, “and his booking photograph was consistent with the suspect’s from the surveillance video.”
(Galarza’s last name was spelled differently, with the R and Z reversed, when he was arrested that time, both on the court and sheriff’s office’s websites. He was pulled over for an inoperable left tail light and ended up charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. He pleaded not guilty in that case.)
Also, the detective “located a Facebook profile under the name Joshua Galarza, where the male displays his tattoos, matching those visible in the surveillance video.”
The alleged partners in crime also lived together.
The detective visited their home on Oct. 17 and spoke to the accomplice, who “confirmed Galarza lived there as well, but was at work.”
Next, the detective showed the accomplice the picture that had been distributed, “and asked if he recognized the individuals pictured. He readily identified them as ‘me and my roommate, Josh,’” the affidavit said.
When the detective asked about Hobby Lobby, “He denied knowing why there would be an investigation into the incident. When [told] the bills he used for the purchase were counterfeit, he nodded and said ‘ok.’”
The affidavit said he added, “He was out of work at the time and he had sold some stuff for cash, and believed the bills were likely from that sale. At no time did [the accomplice] seem surprised by the information that the bills were counterfeit, but later insisted that he did not know. [The accomplice] also noted that he gave Galarza the bills he used to make his purchase at Hobby Lobby.”
Galarza, the affidavit noted, lived with the accomplice, had “familiarity with his financial transactions and method of shopping [together], and using identical $100 bills to pay, indicate that he knew or should have known the bills were counterfeit.
“This is corroborated by the purchase strategy, which involves making small purchases with large bills in order to receive change back in legitimate currency, thereby obtaining both legitimate currency and merchandise. This is a well-known and common tactic amongst counterfeiters, and demonstrates intend to defraud the merchant.”
Two weeks later, Galarza turned himself in on a warrant. He was charged with uttering a counterfeit bill and petit theft $100 to $750, and he pleaded not guilty.
This time, for the alleged shopping spree with the older woman’s credit card, Galarza, 32, is being held without bond. His arraignment is scheduled for March 4.
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