Arrested:
Millan,
Stevee M.; 23 year of age male; Portland OR address
Matamoro-Almaguer,
Jesus E.; 30 year of age male; Portland, OR address
Charges: Identity theft, 1st Degree Theft
Synopsis:
On April 19,
20, 23 and 24 two males came through the Tri-Cities and used bank account
numbers skimmed from local and regional gas station pumps. The two made several thousands of dollars
worth of purchases at area WalGreens and Bulington Coat Factory stores.
Investigators
also believe they are actively committing similar frauds throughout the state.
On Friday
May 6, 2016 the Richland Police Department learned that the suspects had
checked into the Motel 6 at 1771 Fowler.
Investigators responded to the location and arrested Millan and Almaguer
without incident. A search warrant
served on their motel room and vehicle recovered several pieces of evidence related
to credit/debit card fraud.
Both
subjects were booked into the Benton County jail on the above listed charges.
One complication
of an investigation of this type is difficulty in identifying victims. Most
victims of fraud report the incident to their financial institution but not
their local law enforcement agency. This
makes identification of the number of crimes and victims impossible.
Anyone who
believes that they might have been a victim of this series of crimes is
encouraged to contact Detective Erik Lundquist at 509-942-7716.
