| Nature of Incident: |
Proactive Police Work Leads to Identity Theft Arrests |
| Report Number: |
20-134899 |
| Location: |
2400 block of West Hillcrest Drive |
| Date & Time: |
September 29, 2020 @ 10:30 AM |
| Unit(s) Responsible: |
East County Patrol & East County Fraud Forgery |
| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence
|
|
(S) Garcia, Michelle
(S) Maleki, Khashayar
|
Canoga Park
Woodland Hills |
|
| Narrative: |
Two suspects have been arrested for numerous drug and identity theft charges.
On September 29, 2020, deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s Thousand Oaks Station were conducting proactive patrol in an area known for criminal drug activity. Deputies made contact with two subjects in the area. During the contact, the deputies established probable cause to believe the subjects were involved in drug use. During a subsequent search of the subjects’ car and motel room, the deputies located numerous items indicating the subjects were involved in identity theft. The subjects were in possession of numerous debit cards, identification cards, and checks belonging to other people.
Detectives from the East County Investigations Fraud Forgery Unit assisted patrol deputies in the investigation into the identity theft. Detectives were able to locate and confirm numerous victims from the Los Angeles County area. Detectives were also able to determine that a car driven by one of the subjects had recently been purchased with stolen identification. Many of the items found had been stolen from unlocked cars.
On September 29, 2020, Maleki was booked for PC 530.5(c) (1) / Possession of Personal Identifying Information with Intent to Defraud, HS 11350(a) / Possession of a Controlled Substance, HS 11364(a) / Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and PC 182(a)(1) / Conspiracy to Commit a Crime. Garcia was booked for PC 530.5(a) / Identity Theft, PC 530.5(c)(1) / Possession of Personal Identifying Information with Intent to Defraud, HS 11377(a) / Possession of a Controlled Substance, HS 11364(a) Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and PC 182(a)(1) / Conspiracy to Commit a Crime. Garcia was released on her own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in court on October 13, 2020. Maleki is currently in custody with a $40,000.00 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on October 1, 2020.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind citizens to lock their vehicles and be careful with checks in their mailboxes. We have seen a rise in thefts from both cars and mailboxes in the area, leading to further identity theft crimes.
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| Prepared by: |
Detective Jennifer Bowie |
|
| News Release Date: |
October 1, 2020 |
|
| Media Follow-Up Contact: |
Detective Jennifer Bowie (805) 4948227
[email protected]
|
|
Approved by:
Booking Photo Release: |
Captain Denise Sliva
YES NO |
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