On January 13th and 14th 2014 a male suspect went into four jewelry stores in Sonoma and was able to purchase three gold bracelets for a combined total of $6,867 using a fraudulent credit card in the name of a victim named Ryan Mahoney.
Deputies from the Sonoma Police Department were able to download video surveillance from the stores and create a digital flier that was sent to all Bay Area law enforcement agencies. A detective from the San Bruno Police Department recognized the individual in the photograph as Eric Aguirre Zatarain, a 28 year-old Oakland man. Zatarain is on probation for other identity fraud crimes and is believed to have used the victim’s name in numerous jewelry store thefts around the Bay Area. Zatarain’s booking photos, vehicle and distinctive tattoos matched the description of the video surveillance from the Sonoma jewelry store thefts. A $100,000 warrant was issued for Zatarain’s arrest.
Last night at approximately 7:30 PM Dublin Police arrested Zatarain for his warrant as he was waiting in a vehicle while a female accomplice was at a jewelry store trying to purchase jewelry with fraudulent credit cards. Zatarain was booked into the Alameda County Jail and was later transferred to the Sonoma County Jail where he is charged with multiple counts of Burglary, Identity Theft and Theft by Forged Access Card.
Reference CR: 14-0000053
Prepared By: Sgt. S. Crum
