Shantay Monique Shanks, 47, faces two felony theft charges after Gary Police identified her on surveillance video using credit and debit cards taken from wallets that truck drivers reported missing while they slept inside their semi cabs at Burr Street truck stops.
According to probable cause affidavits, on September 21 into the early morning of September 22, 2025, a truck driver parked at the Truck Stop of America (TA) at 2510 Burr Street went to sleep in his semi cab. At 3:49 a.m., he received a Citibank alert showing a declined $102.54 purchase at the Citgo gas station at 3499 Grant Street. He then discovered his black trifold wallet missing, containing multiple credit and debit cards.
Gary Police obtained video footage from the Citgo station. Officers observed a female wearing a green camouflaged hooded jacket and a white-and-black head scarf at the counter holding several credit cards, attempting to swipe, insert, and tap each card. One transaction succeeded before the others were declined. Using facial recognition software from the Gary Police Real Time Crime Center, officers identified her as Shantay Monique Shanks, connecting her to previous truck stop wallet theft investigations.
In a second incident on September 23, 2025, another truck driver resting at the Pilot Truck Stop at 2501 Burr Street discovered his brown wallet missing. It contained his commercial driver’s license, $180 in cash, a NetSpend debit card, and his social security card. Around 6:00 a.m., he received a NetSpend alert that a $25 attempted purchase was made at the Shell gas station at 2900 Burr Street.
Officers reviewed Shell gas station video and saw a female wearing the same green camouflaged jacket and white-and-black head wrap attempting multiple debit and credit card transactions at the counter. She walked into the restroom, returned to the counter, tried again, then left and got into a gray vehicle parked at a pump.
Investigators noted that her clothing matched the TA truck stop incident the day before. Comparing department and BMV photos with the video confirmed Shanks was the person attempting to use the stolen cards.
In both cases, the truck drivers stated they did not give permission for anyone to take their wallets or use their cards. None of the stolen property was recovered. Court records show Shanks has a prior theft conviction in Porter Superior Court from September 2017.
Shanks was lodged in the Lake County Jail on January 29, 2026.
Charges filed January 27-28, 2026:
-
Theft – Defendant Has Prior Conviction For Either Theft Or Conversion — Level 6 Felony
-
Theft – Defendant Has Prior Conviction For Either Theft Or Conversion — Level 6 Felony