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Identity Thieves Target Tommy Lee Jones, Tim Burton, 'Gaylord Focker'
Photo by Andres Rueda via Flickr
More than 200 "blank access cards" and fraudulent credit documents for celebrities and characters including Tim Burton, Tommy Lee Jones, and "Gaylord Focker" were found inside a Burbank motel on Wednesday when Christopher Herrick, a 43-year-old on parole for embezzlement, and 42-year-old Traci Godlef were taken into custody on suspicion of identity theft and forgery, reports the Glendale News-Press.
Said Glendale Police Chief Ron De Pompa, "This is a prime example of how the state is putting parolees back on the street and into already cash-strapped local communities," notes the Glendale News-Press:
"Herrick was among the low-risk inmates released early as part of the state's effort to ease prison overcrowding, cut costs and — with no active parole supervision — reduce overtime for parole agents."
Herrick, who was approached by a patrol officer outside Glen Capri Inns and Suites in Glendale where he and Godlef had been living, admitted to having a hypodermic needle and was also found with black tar heroin and methamphetamine.
When police searched the motel room, they reportedly found "computer equipment, including printers, scanners and hard drives," notes the Glendale News-Press. "A stolen identification card had already been reprinted onto a plastic card, police said." The couple is expected to be arraigned on Monday.
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