On the Street

Off-Duty Mich. Police Officer Catches Attempted Fraudsters at Gas Station

April 11, 2025

An off-duty Midland police officer was in line at a gas station when he saw two men dressed in black and wearing medical masks as they tried to run a scam with Visa gift cards.

By Tereasa Nims

Source Midland Daily News, Mich.

Two Pontiac men dressed all in black and donning medical masks allegedly committed more than $5,000 of fraud at a gas station on April 6, all while standing in front of an off-duty Midland Police officer.

Deshon Davis, 29, and Freddie Gibson, 27, are charged with seven felony counts of fraudulent withdrawals/transfers between $1,000 and $20,000. Gibson also faces an eighth felony charge for resisting and obstructing police by running from them and hiding behind a nearby heating, venting and cooling unit.

Gibson is lodged in the Midland County Jail on a $25,000 bond and Davis is jailed on a $50,000 bond.

Midland Police Department Lt. Travis Toth said the two men were in line Sunday at the Speedway gas station at 604 S. Saginaw Road attempting to buy various Visa gift cards.

The suspects attempted to buy Visa gift cards at the gas station using credit cards that were declined. They then tried to convince the cashier to run the transaction as a cash advance, causing the station's own funds to be used to load the gift cards. Toth said the officer in line knew what was happening and called for backup. As a result, backup was at the scene when the men exited the store.

Both men ran and Davis was caught quickly in the area. Gibson was found nearby hiding behind the HVAC unit.

When police found the suspects' vehicle, which was parked away from the station to avoid video surveillance, Toth said it provided evidence that this was not the suspects' first fraud.

"They are part of a much larger operation," Toth said. "This is not just a Midland thing. The investigation on this one is not over."

He said police have seen the same fraud play out before. They trick the clerk into running the transaction as cash. Either the clerk is afraid what will happen if they don't go along with the scam, or they don't know better.

Toth said it was good the off-duty officer was there; otherwise, the suspects would have gotten away.

"This was a $5,100 save," Toth said.

_____________

Visit www.ourmidland.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.