More identity theft arrests

Here's an article from http://www.morganhilltimes.com/ about 3 perps arrested for identity theft.  Pretty funny how the third one got caught.

While police booked two people on suspicion of identity theft, a third man associated with the suspects showed up at the police station with drugs in his possession and driving a fraudulently rented vehicle, police said.

The investigation began with a call for a possible DUI, when Morgan Hill Cpl. Ray Ramos was dispatched to the area of Home Depot on East Dunne Avenue about 1:45 p.m. Monday. The suspected impaired driver was last seen entering U.S. 101 off East Dunne, going south on the freeway in a Chevrolet Camaro, according to Detective Ken Howard.

Ramos entered the freeway to look for the suspect, and caught up with the Camaro at U.S. 101 and Leavesley Road in Gilroy, where he made a traffic stop.

The driver, Charles Allen, 24 of Richmond, did not have a driver's license, police said. The passenger, Arena Adanandus, 21 of San Pablo, had a suspended license and neither occupant had documentation of ownership of the Camaro.

Arrested on suspicion of driving on a suspended license was Allen, and Ramos brought both subjects back to the Morgan Hill police station on Vineyard Boulevard.

While impounding the Camaro, police discovered new merchandise from Home Depot inside the car, with no receipts accompanying the merchandise, Howard said. Ramos called Home Depot to determine if there had been a recent theft, and a store employee reported that Adanandus had purchased the items, which included two $400 gift cards, using a customer's account number out of Colorado.

Further investigation revealed that Adanandus had fraudulently added her name as a second account holder on the Colorado customer's account, without the customer's knowledge, police said. She is suspected of charging a total of about $3,400 worth of merchandise to the account.

Plus, the Camaro in which the pair were traveling had been rented with a stolen credit card from a rental company at the Oakland Airport Sept. 5, according to Howard. The rental was made using credit card information stolen from a New York resident.

Adanandus was then arrested on suspicion of identity theft and other charges, and police found that she was on probation for a prior theft and charges including burglary, identity theft, unauthorized use of a credit card, unlawfully acquiring credit card information, and possession of stolen property.

Meanwhile, a third party, Aaron Fields, 22 of Richmond, came to the police station to meet Allen and Adanandus while they were being booked. While talking with police, Fields was found to be in possession of a controlled substance, and he had driven to the station in a Ford Fusion he had rented with credit card information stolen from a third unsuspecting victim, Howard said.

All three suspects were arrested and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of identity theft, fraud, fraudulent use of credit cards, fraudulent rental of a vehicle, and conspiracy to commit theft. Fields was also booked on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance.