Articles Posted in Theft Crimes

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIn a scene likely to be reenacted in Grand Theft Auto, a Palm Springs man stole a police car from the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy where recruits were being trained. Two men were arrested in January after investigators found the squad car missing and several other police cars burglarized.

The vehicle was found abandoned in Garden Grove the next day. The alleged perpetrator and his cohort were found in possession of stolen police items and were booked on charges of burglary, vehicle theft, and possession of stolen property.

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An Albuquerque man is accused of breaking into a home and stealing $250,000 worth of jewelry from the home while the owners were on vacation. Police investigating the crime found an opened can of soda and an unflushed toilet where he allegedly relieved himself, but forgot to flush.

Investigators were reportedly able to use the DNA left on the toilet and the soda can to identify the man and arrest him for residential burglary and larceny. He is currently in custody and has pled not guilty to the charges.

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Sleeping in safetyA man with a criminal history of carrying an unregistered, loaded gun, and corporal injury to a spouse has been arrested again in Venice, CA. This time, the man is accused of breaking into a woman’s house.

When the man reportedly entered the woman’s house, she sought escape, crawling out a window onto the roof of her two story home. Fortunately, she brought a cell phone with her and hid under an eave, frantically calling 911.

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Mclaren_mp4-12c_goodwood_festival_of_speed_2010Two teens were arrested in Sonoma County on June 5 and now face charges for credit card fraud, receiving stolen property, identity theft and vehicle theft after the teens allegedly rented a $240,000 McLaren 12C using one or more stolen credit cards.

The 19-year old teens were somehow able to rent the McLaren, which is unusual because car rental agencies do not usually allow drivers under the age of 25 to rent high-end sports cars. They reportedly paid the $13,000 rental payment for the car and were able to get the keys before the agency realized the credit card was stolen.

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With tax day coming tomorrow, it’s tempting to make a few tweaks to reduce the amount of tax you owe to the federal government. But allow yourself to get carried away and you may find yourself in federal prison on tax evasion charges. The former city of Bell chief administrator was convicted of allegedly falsifying losses on his taxes, but that’s only half the story.

As the city administrator, he reportedly misappropriated taxpayer funds to pay himself a salary far in excess of what he should have received, and then claimed more than $770,000 in non-existent losses to the IRS to inflate his take-home pay up to $1.18 million per year.

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When a man applied for a job selling life insurance, his potential employer pointed out a blemish on his background check that indicated he had an outstanding tax lien. Without missing a beat, the man replied that it had been taken care of and he would send proof. Shortly thereafter, a faxed letter was sent to the company indicating that the tax lien’s “amounts in question have been satisfied completely.” It concluded with, “there are no outstanding fees or penalties due, and your record has been cleared of any restrictions or liens.” The letter was signed in the name of a US District Judge.

The company was suspicious and sent the letter to Alicemarie H. Stotler, the judge indicated on his letter. The judge reviewed the letter and saw her forged signature on it. Surprisingly, the judge knew the man, since she once sentenced him to prison for filing a false tax refund claim. She reported the crime and FBI agents who later confronted and arrested the man, who “was cooperative and made a full confession.”

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With the holidays approaching, more shoppers will come out in force to pick up a holiday gift for their loved ones. Understandably, retailers will be keeping a closer eye on their products to ensure that the shoppers don’t become shoplifters.

Shoppers can unwittingly become victims of the criminal justice system, even if they’re not shoplifters. High-end retailers have been under recent scrutiny for acts of discrimination against potential buyers, in one circumstance even telling a black woman that she would not be able to afford the item she was looking at, before the clerk realized she was Oprah Winfrey.

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A group of Yale researchers recently conducted a jury trial study. They formed a group of 471 “jurors” of various body sizes to read a case surrounding the crime of check fraud while viewing one of four possible images of the “defendant.” Each image depicted a lean female, a lean male, an obese female, and an obese male. The participants in the mock trial were asked to rate the culpability (or guilt) of the defendant on a 5-point scale.

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In a recent juvenile delinquency case, a minor stole a car and damaged it beyond repair, rendering it a total loss for insurance purposes. After admitting to the crime, the juvenile court granted Deferred Entry of Judgment (DEJ), meaning that the case would be dismissed provided the minor complete the terms of probation, which in this case included restitution, or paying the owner of the car for damages.

The court ordered the minor pay $13,000 in damages to the car owner, along with $2,000 in interest on the car loan as part of this restitution. After the criminal defense attorney filed an appeal to challenge the $2,000 interest portion, the court surprisingly denied the appeal. The reason it was denied was because there is no way to appeal a DEJ order, and the restitution is considered part of it.

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Angele Hardman allegedly walked into a Macy’s store and asked the clerk to try on a valuable, $4000 ring. When the ring seemed to get stuck on her finger, the clerk attempted to remove it with water and lotion. When the clerk’s back was turned, Hardman allegedly took off the ring and swallowed it. She then was reported to have presented the clerk with a fake copy of the same ring.

The clerk immediately noticed the discrepancy and called store security. Hardman was searched, but because the ring was not found among her belongings, she was released. After reviewing surveillance video, the store contacted police, and detectives arrived at her home for the purpose of investigating the incident.

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