Dover, Tenn.–A Clarksville woman who had been the object of complaints for days was arrested in Stewart County over the weekend, charged with scamming people into believing she was out of gas and needed cash.
Shelecia Craig, age 31, had been getting money from people by deceiving them and using her child to help do it.
Sheriff Frankie Gray said, “Her scam was to pull over on the side of the road pretending to be out of gas. Playing on citizens’ soft hearts, she would then take out a gas can and her approximately 15-months-old child and pretend to start walking to find a gas station. She apparently did not have to wait long before some concerned and caring citizen would stop.”
People who stopped not only gave her gas but also cash. “Some would follow her to a gas station and fill her car up and some would also give her cash as well,” he said. “When she was finished she would drive to another location and pretend to be out of gas and start the scam again.”
In her vehicle were dozens of receipts from Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Gray said K-9 Deputy Aaron Page made contact with her on Hwy. 79 near the ball fields and found her to be driving on revoked as well as having a theft warrant from Montgomery County. She was charged with criminal impersonation for giving a false name and the investigations continues for other charges.
The child was taken to child services and turned over to relatives.
“A good job by K-9 Deputy Aaron Page, Deputy Corey Etherton and Sgt. Goldsmith for sorting this scam out. Also the Sheriff’s Office wants to thank the individuals who posted this scam on Facebook as well as calling the Dispatch Center to report it.”