|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
Azle police made two arrests last week that will likely result in a federal case, Chief of Police Steve Myers confirmed this week.
Azle investigators and two federal agents executed a search warrant on a travel trailer on Sandy Beach Road, in unincorporated Tarrant County last Wednesday afternoon.
They seized 2,000 checks that apparently were stolen from mailboxes at residences largely in southern Tarrant County, Myers said. A week later, the Secret Service was still cataloguing items that were confiscated from the trailer, Azle investigator Rusti Wingate said. Also recovered were numerous credit cards that had been used for approximately $4,000 in fraudulent charges, Myers said.
“At this time, we don’t know of any Azle area victims,” Myers said. The two people arrested have not been identified for fear of retribution from other suspects, he said. There may be a connection to the prison-based gang called the Aryan Brotherhood, an officer at the scene said last week. The two had been passing counterfeit $20 bills locally. The initial arrest was made after a local business reported a man who seemed to be using a false identity because he had been in the business previously but used a different name. Azle officers responded to the business’s call and apprehended the man. About two hours later, a woman was stopped in Azle on a traffic violation. Officer Richard Lukowsky found an outstanding warrant for her from Tarrant County. A sheriff’s officer assisted him with the arrest. Lukowsky and the deputy found a counterfeit $20 in the vehicle along with multiple identifications, Myers said. She was taken into custody by Tarrant County. Later, Wingate made a connection between the two arrests and the Secret Service was called in, Myers said. The pair had equipment in the trailer for printing bills and for “washing” checks. A stolen check, with legitimate signature and bank information, is “washed” of the original payee and amount and then rewritten to another (fraudulent) payee for a larger sum of money, Myers explained. “Shred, shred and then shred some more,” Myers offered as advice to area residents. Azle officers are starting to see more frequent cases of lost or stolen checks, ID, and fraudulent charges on area residents credit and debit cards, he said. The department, with Crime Control and Prevention (CCPD) funds, has installed commercial shredders at the Senior Center and Azle Memorial Library for residents to use, he said. He also suggests not receiving new check supply at your home address, and paying bills electronically from a secure site such as one sponsored by your bank. “This case is unusual for Azle,” he said. “We have reports from citizens, we have traffic stops, we have these elements. But rarely all in one case, along with federal officers. “It’s going extremely well.” Myers believes a federal trial will “be better for the victims” because the penalties are stiffer, and the conclusion will probably be quicker. |
|
