On January 28, a woman reported her purse had been stolen from her car and then her bank called to alert her to fraudulent charges made on her card at Macy’s. She contacted Valley River Security and they found the two involved men had arrived in a van and then provided Eugene Police with the license plate. The van had already left the area, but an EPD Downtown Team officer located the van later in front of REI in downtown Eugene. Eugene Police arrested the two male suspects as they were leaving the store. During the investigation, officers found there were around eight attempts to use the cards, some successful, some declined. Officers were able to recover stolen items and returned the woman’s purse.
Arrested were:
Kenneth Michael Kelley, age 36
Charges: five count of Identify Theft, five counts of Fraudulent Use Credit Card, Unauthorized Use Motor Vehicles, and a warrant of Linn County for Identity Theft.
Justin Ray Gomez, age 29, of Eugene
Charges: two counts of Identity Theft, and two counts of Fraudulent Use Credit Card
