Man urinating outside mall had 90 credit cards

A St. Louis man was discovered with about 90 credit cards in other people's names after he was found urinating in the Richmond Square Mall parking lot Wednesday night.

Alan Cohen, 48, was booked into the Wayne County Jail on preliminary charges of theft (a Level 6 felony), fraud (a Level 6 felony), violation of the Legend Drug Act (a Level 6 felony) and public indecency (a Class A misdemeanor).

Richmond Police Department Officer Sergio Santiago's report said he was dispatched at about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday to investigate a reckless driver in a white vehicle with Missouri license plates, Britt said. Santiago found an unoccupied Ford Crown Victoria matching that description in the mall's north parking lot and parked in the west lot near Office Max to watch the vehicle, RPD Sgt. Mike Britt said.

After about five minutes, Cohen staggered from the mall, went to the back of the Ford and urinated. He then attempted to enter the driver's door, Britt said.

At that point, Santiago made contact with Cohen, a former attorney specializing in bankruptcy who said he had come to Richmond from St. Louis to shop at Dillard's.

Using probable cause for public indecency from Cohen's urinating, officers patted down Cohen and found 16 Citibank credit cards in other people's names.

An inventory of the vehicle found a large number of pills described as Baclofen, a muscle relaxer, Britt said. The car also contained a large amount of credit cards and some recent purchases.

Five more credit cards were found on Cohen when he was lodged in the jail, Britt said, bringing the total to about 90, none in Cohen's name. Britt said the cards carried addresses from throughout the country, including as far away as Washington state.

Investigators impounded Cohen's vehicle and applied for a warrant to search it. Britt said investigators must determine how Cohen acquired and used the credit cards to identify victims in support of fraud or theft charges.

RPD will contact federal authorities, Britt said, because of the multi-state scope of the investigation.