Mercury News
In a crime reminiscent of a Citibank identity theft commercial, Palo Alto police on Sunday nabbed two San Francisco men who allegedly stole a Texas man's information, opened up a credit account in his name and went on a designer-fashion spending spree at Nordstrom in the Stanford Shopping Center.
John Santner, 44, and Michael Catalano, 49, were pulled over in a white Dodge van filled with more than $5,000 worth of Jimmy Choo purses, Hugo Boss shoes and other trendy accessories, Palo Alto police Agent Rich Bullerjahn said. They allegedly also had crystal methamphetamine.
Each suspect was booked on felony counts of burglary, identity theft, drug possession and theft, according to police records. Santner, already on parole, was also booked with giving false information to an officer, after he allegedly claimed to be the man whose name was on the credit card.
Officers weren't about to fall for that, Bullerjahn said. Security officers at Nordstrom had already called the identity theft victim, who assured them he hadn't been buying any Jimmy Choo purses in the Bay Area recently.
The suspects were caught thanks to a suspicious store clerk and a sharp-eyed young cop, Bullerjahn said.
The Nordstrom clerk was wary because Santner pulled out a recently issued temporary credit card to pay for all the fancy clothes, Bullerjahn said. The clerk notified security officers, who soon confirmed the identity theft — though Santner and Catalano were already on their way out by then.
A security officer had spied the pair leaving the shopping center and getting into the Dodge van, Bullerjahn said. Palo Alto police headed to the area, and Officer Brad Young saw the car heading westbound on Sand Hill Road near Oak Creek Drive. He pulled over the van, and a security officer soon arrived to identify the suspects.
Police recovered from the vehicle all of the clothes that had been purchased at Nordstrom, Bullerjahn added.
It wasn't Santner's first arrest on identity theft charges. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article from April 2007, he was one of a trio picked up at a Marriott Courtyard Hotel on charges of manufacturing and using counterfeit credit cards after a hotel custodian found partially completed driver's licenses in a garbage can. They were also charged with methamphetamine possession.
It was not immediately clear whether Santner was convicted in that case or whether that was the source of his parole status.
John Santner, 44, and Michael Catalano, 49, were pulled over in a white Dodge van filled with more than $5,000 worth of Jimmy Choo purses, Hugo Boss shoes and other trendy accessories, Palo Alto police Agent Rich Bullerjahn said. They allegedly also had crystal methamphetamine.
Each suspect was booked on felony counts of burglary, identity theft, drug possession and theft, according to police records. Santner, already on parole, was also booked with giving false information to an officer, after he allegedly claimed to be the man whose name was on the credit card.
Officers weren't about to fall for that, Bullerjahn said. Security officers at Nordstrom had already called the identity theft victim, who assured them he hadn't been buying any Jimmy Choo purses in the Bay Area recently.
The suspects were caught thanks to a suspicious store clerk and a sharp-eyed young cop, Bullerjahn said.
The Nordstrom clerk was wary because Santner pulled out a recently issued temporary credit card to pay for all the fancy clothes, Bullerjahn said. The clerk notified security officers, who soon confirmed the identity theft — though Santner and Catalano were already on their way out by then.
A security officer had spied the pair leaving the shopping center and getting into the Dodge van, Bullerjahn said. Palo Alto police headed to the area, and Officer Brad Young saw the car heading westbound on Sand Hill Road near Oak Creek Drive. He pulled over the van, and a security officer soon arrived to identify the suspects.
Police recovered from the vehicle all of the clothes that had been purchased at Nordstrom, Bullerjahn added.
It wasn't Santner's first arrest on identity theft charges. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article from April 2007, he was one of a trio picked up at a Marriott Courtyard Hotel on charges of manufacturing and using counterfeit credit cards after a hotel custodian found partially completed driver's licenses in a garbage can. They were also charged with methamphetamine possession.
It was not immediately clear whether Santner was convicted in that case or whether that was the source of his parole status.
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