Santa Rosa Ex-Con Arrested For Dozens of Burglary, ID Theft Cases Across State
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- A convicted felon on probation for burglary, forgery and identity theft was arrested this week in Santa Rosa on a litany of similar charges, and investigators are seeking additional ID theft victims across the county and the state, police said Friday.
Santa Rosa police said an identity theft victim contacted the department in early September after discovering someone had obtained a car loan and bought a vehicle using the victim's name. The identity thief used the victim's personal identifying information and fraudulent identification documents at a local car dealership, police said.
Investigators identified the suspect as 27-year-old Santa Rosa resident Daniel McRae, 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 area of Dutton Ave. and Highway 12.
Police said at the time of the arrest, McRae was in possession of significant amounts of mail and other documents containing personal identifying information for additional victims. Also on Wedneday, search warrants were served at two residences, one on the 400 block of Link Lane and the other on the 500 block of Aston Way, as well as at a storage unit on the 900 block of Hopper Ave.
During the search, detectives found an unregistered and loaded firearm, evidence of fraudulent credit cards and ID cards, stolen mail, and personal identifying information for over 100 victims throughout Sonoma County and California, according to police. The evidence showed McRae used the personal information to obtain credit cards, loans and online accounts under various victims' names, police said.
McRae is currenly on probation for five separate convictions for burglary, forgery, ID theft, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, He was booked at the Sonoma County Jail on 27 felony charges, including burglary, forgery, ID theft, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, and probation violation.
Police detectives are looking to contact a number of victims in an extensive caseload, and believe there are still additional victims throughout the county and the state. Authorities have 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 has otherwise been notified about suspicious activity on their accounts was encouraged to contact Santa Rosa Police Detective Tim Gooler at tgooler@srcity.org.