This browser does not support the Video element.
Attorney says indictment is first piece of larger case against Laundrie
The indictment against Brian Laundrie is a single count and says he committed fraud by using a debit card to take out more than one thousand dollars. Legal analyst and defense attorney Anthony Rickman says the charge is simple, but it becomes a significant piece in a large puzzle.
VENICE, Fla. - The search for Brian Laundrie – the only person of interest in Gabby Petito's case – at Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County enters its sixth day, after he was indicted by the FBI on a federal fraud charge.
On Thursday, the FBI issued a federal warrant for the 23-year-old's arrest, but the indictment isn’t for homicide, but rather a fraud charge. According to the agency, he used someone else’s Capital One bank card between August 30 to September 1, and took out more than $1,000.
The indictment does not say specifically to whom the cards belong, however, federal investigators said the charges are "related to Mr. Laundrie’s activities following the death of Gabrielle Petito."
"While this warrant allows law enforcement to arrest Mr. Laundrie, the FBI and our partners across the country continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of Ms. Petito's homicide," The FBI said in a statement. "We urge individuals with knowledge of Mr. Laundrie's role in this matter or his current whereabouts to contact the FBI."
PDF: View the indictment and warrant documents here
This means when Laundrie is found, authorities will be able to take him into custody. The indictment doesn’t say who the card belonged to but legal analyst Anthony Rickman believe detectives are attempting to narrow down a timeline for when Gabby was killed.
According to the indictment, the card was used on August 3 – three days after the last text was sent from Gabby’s phone and two days before Brian pulled into North Port in Gabby’s van.
Gabby Petito case: How to submit a tip to the FBI
What's also important, when you use a card to use an ATM, there's a camera associated with it. So, his image may have been captured while he's using that card. That's going to help law enforcement if they're investigating this homicide, or believe they are to further pin down a date and time of when we know he is alone. If they can establish that occurred after her death, it establishes that he had access to her belongings, her credit card, possibly her cell phone after her death.
As for the ongoing search for Brian, five days of scouring the Carlton Reserve have turned up nothing. The marshy, swampy terrain has made this a slow slog for law enforcement, which has involved search teams from 16 different agencies.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Brian Laundrie's car returned to parents
Meanwhile, the Laundries left their home for the first significant amount of time since reporting their son missing last Friday. They were followed by a police escort, but police would not say where the couple went.
Additional resources from the FBI were brought in to help Florida authorities continue the search. The North Port Police Department, which has led the search operations so far, has not revealed why investigators believe a search of the area is important, other than to say that he’s still missing and this is where his parents said he last went.
Retired FBI agent Stuart Kaplan told FOX 13’s Kimberly Kuizon that, despite the apparent lack of results, the massive search is not a lost effort as investigators work to zero in on something of substance. At this point, that may not be Brian Laundrie himself, but it could be something just as important.
Shortly before the FBI's announcement, a North Port law firm announced it would offer $20,000 for information leading to Laundrie's location, adding pressure to anyone who may have information about the case.
Legal analysis of Laundrie indictment
The indictment against Brian Laundrie is a single count and says he committed fraud by using a debit card to take out more than $1,000. Legal analyst and defense attorney Anthony Rickman says the charge is simple, but it becomes a significant piece in a large puzzle.
"Putting the pin number in, he had no permission to do it, he used her credit card without her consent,"Rickman said, although the indictment does not specify it was Gabby's card Laundrie used.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Body camera video shows distress between Gabby, Brian
Body camera video from police in Utah shows Gabby Petito and her fiance, Brian Laundrie, during an investigation into possible domestic violence. Officers did not file any charges against either of them, despite an earlier fight.
MORE: Moab to investigate police handling of Brian Laundrie, Gabby Petito altercation
Rickman suspects that for the act of using someone else's credit card to become part of an indictment in a case of this magnitude, prosecutors are using the charge to further establish a timeline for both Gabby and Brian. Her phone's last text was sent August 27. Brian returned home sometime September 1.
The indictment says the card was used on August 30.
"When you use a card, use an ATM, there's a camera associated with it. We will see his image when he is using that card. That's going to help law enforcement," Rickman said.
The arrest warrant that accompanies the indictment says Brian Laundrie has to go before a US magistrate without unnecessary delay. While it's still unclear whether anyone will be charged in the death of Gabby Petito, which has been ruled a homicide, there is now a charge he has to answer for.
"And that means when they get him, he goes right to a judge?" FOX 13's Evan Axelbank asked Rickman.
"Right to a judge, right into custody, no ifs, ands, or buts," Rickman responded.
Gabby Petito death
On Tuesday, a coroner confirmed that a body found Sunday in Wyoming was indeed Gabby. They said the manner of death was homicide. Investigators believe Brian – Gabby's fiancé – is the last person to see her alive.
The remains were discovered Sunday in the Bridger-Teton National Forest after a national search for the 22-year-old. Video captured by a vacationing Tampa family accidentally caught what appeared to be the couple's van parked at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in the forest; Gabby's body was later found nearby.
Video captured by a vacationing Tampa family accidentally caught what appeared to be the couple's van parked at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in the forest; Gabby's body was later found nearby.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Autopsy: Gabby Petito's body found in Wyoming
The FBI confirmed Tuesday that the remains found over the weekend in Grand Teton National Park were those of Gabby Petito, the Florida woman who went missing during a cross-country trip with her fiancé.
Her body was found nearly three weeks after Brian returned home to North Port with the camper van – without Gabby. Brian was later named a person of interest in her disappearance. The remains were discovered Sunday in the Bridger-Teton National Forest after a national search for the 22-year-old.
As for a digital trail of evidence, North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said last week they didn't have Gabby's phone and were still looking for it. As of Wednesday, it does not appear police have Brian’s phone. It could have been one of the items he took with him when his parents said he left.
Gabby had been documenting the trip across the country on social media. Her last post was made August 25, the same day that she last spoke with her family by phone.
The FBI and other local law enforcement began the search in the national forest Saturday, September 18. Gabby had visited the area on August 27; her family reported her missing on September 11 after her fiancé, Brian, returned home to North Port, Florida with the van, but without Gabby, following a domestic altercation in Moab, Utah.
A 911 caller who reported the "domestic dispute" between Brian and Gabby on August 12 was heard telling a dispatcher that "the gentleman was slapping the girl."
Body camera footage from the responding officers showed Petito crying in the couple's van. Officers ended up splitting up the couple for the night to cool off.
RELATED: Gabby Petito showed behavior of victim in Utah bodycam video, domestic violence counselor says
After the missing person's report was filed on September 11, police in North Port and elsewhere began looking for her, but they did not have any help narrowing down the search from the Laundrie family.
Search for Brian Laundrie continues
Laundrie has not been seen in over a week. Law enforcement has been combing a 25,000-acre preserve near his North Port, Florida home based on information from his parents regarding his last known location.
Laundrie's parents told police their son left Tuesday, September 14 to go camping at Carlton Reserve. His parents told investigators they went to the reserve Wednesday and saw their son's car there, but not Brian. They returned the next day and brought his vehicle home.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Who is Brian Laundrie?
Brian Laundrie is known for being an outdoor enthusiast and often appeared in social media posts with Gabby Petito, but few details about his life have been made public. Now, a warrant has been issued for his arrest and law enforcement continues searching for him.
Meanwhile, the Laundries left their home for the first significant amount of time since reporting their son missing last Friday. They were followed by a police escort, but police would not say where the couple went.
MORE: Gabby Petito investigation: Who are Brian Laundrie's parents?
The Laundries then reported Brian missing the following night.
After Brian was reported missing, the search at Carlton Reserve began. Agents also removed carloads of possible evidence from the Laundrie home.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Search may be for evidence in Brian Laundrie disappearance
More resources from the FBI have been brought in for the search of 25,000 acres in Sarasota County where Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the disappearance and death of Gabby Petito, was thought to last have been seen but investigators may now be turning their efforts to searching for evidence rather than Laundrie himself.
Brian Laundrie's silver Ford Mustang was returned from police custody to his parents Thursday, who then left their home for several hours, with a police escort.
Laundrie's parents have remained silent as the search for Gabby, and then the search for their son stretched on. Speaking only through a New York-based lawyer, the family said early on it would ‘remain in the background’ as the search for Gabby got underway.
The family of Gabby Petito has maintained that the Laundrie family knows more than they were willing to say, stating through their lawyer "We believe you know the location where Brian left Gabby. We beg you to tell us. As a parent, how could you let us go through this pain and not help us? As a parent, how could you put Gabby's younger brothers and sisters through this?"
Gabby's remains were discovered in Grand Teton National Park in the following days. A preliminary autopsy found her manner of death was homicide, but her cause of death was still being investigated.
Now armed with an arrest warrant, investigators are asking the public for help in locating Brian. They describe him as a white male, 5-foot-8 and weighing 160 pounds. He has brown eyes, very short brown hair, trimmed facial hair, and was last seen wearing a hiking bag with a waist strap.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to submit tips at: www.fbi.gov/petito