A New York woman has been arrested on a slate of charges connected to an apparent dine-and-dash spree in Edgartown over the past two weeks.
Lashonda K. Barnett, 47, of New York city, N.Y. was arraigned on Sept. 2 in Edgartown district court on Sept. 1 charges in Edgartown of defrauding a restaurant, assault and battery, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. In a separate docket, Ms. Barnett was arraigned on an August 28 charge in Edgartown of defrauding a restaurant.
Ms. Barnett was released on personal recognizance Sept. 2, according to court documents.
According to an Edgartown police report filed in court and an interview with Lieut. Chris Dolby, the issue arose in late August, when Ms. Barnett ate at Lucky Hank’s, The Atlantic and Sharky’s Cantina between August 27 and August 28. In all three instances, Ms. Barnett allegedly stated that she was having issues with her bank card and was unable to pay the bill. The card was denied at all three restaurants, the report states.
Lieutenant Dolby said Ms. Barnett provided false excuses for credit card, leaving both Lucky Hank's and The Atlantic without paying.
At Sharky’s on August 28, Edgartown police were called to the scene after the owner reported suspicious activity. Ms. Barnett told police that she had lost her bank card and was trying to call a friend to pay the bill.
But police reports and Lieutenant Dolby said an informal communication chain had developed among Edgartown restaurants, warning of a possible serial dine-and-dash customer matching Ms. Barnett’s description.
Police issued Ms. Barnett a summons for fraudulently procuring food at Sharky's, as well as a trespassing order. They also asked Ms. Barnett if she needed assistance with housing or food, according to the report.
“Lashonda stated that she was all set and needed no assistance at this time,” the police report indicates.
Four days later, on Sept. 1, a different report states that police were called to the scene at l’Etoile Restaurant after a customer matching Ms. Barnett’s description had her credit card denied on a $172.13 bill. The police report states that the customer refused to be identified by police and resisted arrest, verbally assaulting police and poking the restaurant owner.
“During booking, Barnett was properly identified as the female involved in similar cases at Edgartown eating establishments from the past week,” the report states. “She had no intention of paying for her meal this evening.”
Lieutenant Dolby said Ms. Barnett did not pay for her meal at any of the four Edgartown restaurants.
A pretrial hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 19 on all charges, according to court documents.
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