Greenwich Police charged a 26-year-old Orlando man with more than 70 counts of larceny, identity theft, and fraud after plainclothes officers caught him carrying over $27,000 in stolen merchandise and an 81-year-old victim's stolen credit cards in the central Greenwich business district on Friday, July 17.

Willians Lazaro Valdes Jimenez was detained after asset protection personnel at a local merchant flagged suspicious transactions and alerted the department's ORCA unit, a plainclothes team that targets organized retail crime in central Greenwich, according to a department press release published by Greenwich Free Press.

ORCA officers spotted Valdes Jimenez communicating by cell phone with a co-conspirator in a nearby getaway vehicle. He attempted to flee before police detained him.

Officers found merchandise from two businesses on his person: one item valued at more than $17,000 and two items from a second store totaling over $10,000. He also had five payment cards belonging to an 81-year-old man whose wallet had been stolen earlier that same day. The victim told police he did not know the accused.

Valdes Jimenez claimed he had permission to use another person's card. ORCA officers contacted American Express, which confirmed with the cardholder that the transaction was fraudulent. Receipts found on him showed eight additional attempted transactions that were declined.

The charges include Larceny 1, Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 1, Identity Theft 1, Payment Card Theft, Criminal Impersonation, and dozens of related conspiracy and attempt counts.

His $500,000 bond is notably higher than the $100,000 to $250,000 bonds set in other recent organized retail theft cases in Greenwich. He was unable to post it.

The arrest is one of four ORCA-led busts in central Greenwich this month. As we reported July 19, officers arrested a Fresh Meadow, N.Y., man on more than 20 fraud charges after a similar merchant tip. On Saturday, July 25, four men from Brooklyn, New Rochelle, and the Bronx were charged with identity theft at a Greenwich bank.

Greenwich Police said the ORCA unit has developed contacts in the business community who provide tips about suspicious activity, noting that individuals involved in theft and financial crimes often travel to Greenwich specifically to target local businesses.

Valdes Jimenez is scheduled to appear at Stamford Superior Court on Friday, July 31. Residents who observe suspicious activity can contact the Greenwich Police Department.