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A 19-year-old woman in Texas thought she could hit the jackpot with some stolen lottery tickets, but instead, she got a one-way ticket to jail, according to authorities.
The investigation
On May 10, officers from the Belton Police Department were called to a CEFCO convenience store regarding a report of a theft of multiple books of lottery tickets, according to an arrest affidavit filed by Belton police investigators and obtained by KWKT. The books had a total value of $2,600.
With the help of a Texas Lottery Commission investigator, further investigation showed the tickets were validated at two CEFCO locations in Belton on May 9, authorities said.
Police were able to identify 19-year-old Jayleigh Marie Jackson as a suspect, and a warrant for her arrest was obtained.
How was the suspect discovered?
According to the Lottery Commission, they are able to identify tickets that were not validated when sold. The terminals the retailers use to read the tickets when you turn them in will then flag those transactions of tickets that aren't validated.
In addition, pictures are taken when a person cashes in their winning tickets.
The arrest
This all helped authorities to pinpoint Jackson as the suspect, and now she is facing multiple felony charges, police said.
On July 2, Jackson was arrested and charged with lottery fraud and theft, officials said. She was booked into the Bell County Jail.
Legitimate Texas Lottery winners
While Jackson tried to scam her way into winning, the Texas Lottery recently announced two big winners came forward to claim their jackpots.
The first lucky winner was from Bridgeport, who claimed their Mega Millions prize worth $1 million for the drawing held on June 21. The winning white ball numbers for that drawing were 3, 18, 27, 40, and 44, and the Mega Ball was 19.
The second-tier prize winning ticket was purchased at Raceway #6973, located at 101 U.S. Highway 380 in Bridgeport. The winner chose their own numbers and matched all five of the white ball numbers, but not the Mega Ball to win the $1 million prize.
While the lucky winner came forward to claim their prize, they did elect to remain anonymous. In addition to the $1 million win, they also had a $500 win on the same ticket.
The second big winner to come forward and claim their prize was a Mexican resident who won playing Texas Two Step. The winning ticket was from the May 13 drawing, and the lucky winner won the jackpot prize worth $1.33 million.
The winning white ball numbers for the May 13 drawing were 4, 13, 14, and 17, and the red Bonus Ball was 24. The winner, who also elected to remain anonymous, matched all four of the white ball numbers and the red Bonus Ball to win the jackpot.
The winning ticket was purchased at H-E-B Food Store #642, located at 1300 S. Cage Blvd. in Pharr. The lucky winner chose the Quick Pick option to win the jackpot.
Enjoy playing the Texas Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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