Man arrested in possession of 158 separate identities in Washington County
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — A man was arrested in Washington County with 30 financial cards and the information of 158 individual identities early Friday morning, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Joshua M. Robinson, 25, was arrested on 30 counts of unlawful acquisition/possession/transfer of a financial card (third-degree felony), unlawful possession of ID of another — documents of 100-plus individuals (second-degree felony), false personal information with intent to be another actual person (class A misdemeanor), possession of controlled substance marijuana/spice (class B misdemeanor), and driving on a suspended/revoked license (class-C misdemeanor).
At around 12:45 a.m. on Feb. 23, a Washington County deputy conducted a traffic stop on I-15 Northbound near mile marker 3 for a window tint violation.
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Upon stopping the vehicle, the deputy noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the open passenger’s side window. The deputy then asked for the driver, later identified as Robinson, to exit the vehicle.
Robinson reportedly told the deputy he did not have any identification with him, and “was hesitant to provide his name and even had to pause as he was giving [the deputy] the information, as if he had to think about it,” according to a statement of probable cause.
Based on this, the deputy reportedly believed that Robinson was providing false information. The deputy then spoke with a passenger in the vehicle who said that Robinson had given a fake name, according to the affidavit.
After being confronted about having given a fake name, Robinson reportedly gave the deputy his true identity, stating that he had provided his older brother’s information because “he thought he had a warrant,” the affidavit states.
The deputy conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle, finding a black backpack in the back seat. The deputy found a total of 30 Nevada food stamp financial cards, each with a different number and name, inside the bag.
A social security card, debit card, and driver’s license, all not belonging to Robinson, were also found inside the bag. The final item inside — a hard-bound notebook — contained several pages of handwritten personal information of other individuals.
“The information was laid out in the same format for each person, all of which were different. The format was first/last name, phone number, date of birth, social security number, address, and some form of an account number,” the affidavit states. “It is common to see all these things in the ‘card skimming/card cloning’ criminal industry.”
The deputy said he also found Robinson’s financial cards, as well as Robinson’s passport and several of his personal pawn receipts inside the bag as well.
Robinson claimed he “knew nothing about the bag” and that the bag belonged to his brother, according to the affidavit.
The total number of listed identities was 158, in addition to 30 financial cards.
Robinson was booked into Washington County Jail on the charges previously mentioned.
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