Former Santa Rosa inmate arrested for dozens of burglaries and identity theft statewide – CBS San Francisco
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) – A criminal convicted on probation for burglary, forgery and identity theft was arrested this week in Santa Rosa on a litany of similar charges, and investigators are looking for more victims of identity theft across the county and state, police said. Friday.
Santa Rosa Police said a victim of identity theft contacted the department in early September after discovering someone had obtained a car loan and purchased a vehicle using the victim’s name. The identity thief used the victim’s personal identification information and fraudulent identification documents at a local car dealership, police said.
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Investigators identified the suspect as Daniel McRae, a 27-year-old Santa Rosa resident, and surveillance by detectives revealed he was associated with several locations, police said. During a surveillance operation Wednesday, McCrae left a residence and was arrested during a traffic stop in the Dutton Avenue and Highway 12 area.
Daniel McCrae (Santa Rosa Police Department)
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Police said that at the time of the arrest, McRae was in possession of a significant amount of mail and other documents containing personally-identifying information for other victims. Also on Wednesday, search warrants were served on two residences, one in the 400 block of Link Lane and the other in the 500 block of Aston Way, as well as a storage unit in the 900 block of Hopper Ave .
During the search, detectives found an unregistered and loaded firearm, evidence of fraudulent credit cards and identity cards, stolen mail and personal identification information for more than 100 victims in the Sonoma County and California, police said. Evidence showed that McRae used personal information to obtain credit cards, loans and online accounts under the names of various victims, police said.
McRae is currently on probation for five separate convictions for burglary, forgery, identity theft and being a felon in possession of a gun. a felon in possession of a gun and violation of probation.
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Police detectives are seeking to contact a number of victims in a large case and believe there are still additional victims across the county and state. Authorities released McRae’s booking photo to see if others know him and have been victimized by him. Anyone who has seen unknown changes on their credit report or been made aware of suspicious activity on their accounts have been encouraged to contact Santa Rosa Police Detective Tim Gooler at [email protected]