Oklahoma woman to stand trial in Missouri on stolen identities charge

Jan. 19—A Jasper County judge on Thursday ordered a Sapulpa, Oklahoma, woman to stand trial on a charge of trafficking in stolen identities.

Michelle L. Lucas, 36, waived a preliminary hearing on the charge in Jasper County Circuit Court, and Associate Judge Joseph Hensley set her initial appearance in a trial division for March 16.

Lucas was charged after Jasper County deputies' pursuit of a stolen vehicle April 1 near Carthage.

Lucas, who was a passenger in the pickup truck, was charged with trafficking in stolen identities when deputies searching the vehicle found a purse on the passenger-side floorboard that contained her driver's license as well as another driver's license, several credit cards and checks belonging to other people, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Deputies also found other means of identification in the vehicle, including three paper temporary driver's licenses with differing numbers and her date of birth and name on them, according to the affidavit.

A handgun also was seized and a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm sought when officers learned that Lucas has a conviction in Oklahoma for carrying contraband into a jail. But the Jasper County prosecutor's office chose not to file the firearm count.