More identity theft arrests made

Monday, March 29, 2004 | 10:58 a.m.

A traffic stop Saturday led Metro Police to their second major identity theft bust in three days, in which large amounts of forgery equipment, drugs and stolen materials were recovered.

Shelly Saenz, 24, and a 15-year-old boy were arrested Saturday at a home in the 7600 block of Seagull Avenue in western Las Vegas, Metro Lt. Steve Franks said. They were charged with manufacturing counterfeit documents, trafficking of a controlled substance and possession of stolen property.

Two men were detained at the site and additional charges are pending, Franks said.

Franks said that those arrested Saturday were associated with William London, 18, who was arrested on similar charges Thursday in the 3000 block of Vegas Drive.

"They are all tied to each other," Franks said of the local forgery ring, noting that at least five more accomplices are at large. Police are not releasing details about those five people yet, however.

Recovered Saturday from the house on Seagull, near Alta and Buffalo drives, were machines for making IDs, checks, applications for credit cards, a stolen truck, 250 to 500 pieces of stolen mail, items taken from residential burglaries and three-quarters of a pound of methamphetamine, Franks said.

"Forgery equipment, stolen items and drugs -- we call them the 'unholy trinity' -- always seem to be involved" in these kind of incidents, Franks said, noting that during a routine traffic stop Saturday a forged ID was found that was traced back to the Seagull home. That led police to obtain a search warrant for the home.

"These are dangerous people. Identity theft ruins consumers' lives. It takes about 10 years for a victim to clean up the damage done to finances and credit records. Last year, $54 billion was stolen through identity theft crimes in the United States compared to $10 million taken in all armed robberies."

On March 25, police recovered a large amount of computer equipment in a storage shed in the back yard of the home where London lives.