Men arrested for breaking into cars and stealing purses

Two men were arrested on Saturday after they used stolen credit cards they allegedly took out of various purses in Columbia.

Josephus Howard and Courtney Wright were arrested on five counts of felony stealing, fraudulent use of a credit card device and property damage.

Officers had previously received four reports of purses being stolen at parks in the area, including Cosmo Park, Twin Lakes Park and Jay Dix Station. In all of those situations, the suspects shattered the window of the vehicle and stole the purse from the car.

On Saturday, officers were called to Walmart on W. Broadway in response to a fraud in which one of the stolen credit cards were used. When they arrived, officers were able to search Howard and Wright’s car and found a purse with three of the reported stolen credit cards. They also found the key for the hotel where Howard and Wright were staying. When they searched the hotel room, they found a purse belonging to another victim.

Howard and Wright’s bonds were set at $20,000. Wright posted bond, and Howard is still in jail and is due in court at 1:30 Monday afternoon.