Suspected ID-theft ring accused in Lakewood case
DENVER — Two men suspected of participating in an organized crime ring that stole identities from cars parked at churches, trailheads and other public places face identity theft charges in connection with at least one Lakewood crime.
And police are checking evidence gathered in some other Lakewood cases to determine whether the suspects named in the indictment might be responsible.
The 101-count Statewide Grand Jury indictment announced earlier this week by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, charges Victor Gabler, 37, and Troy Degrote, 36, with using credit cards stolen during a of car burglaries in the parking lot of a Lakewood church 15 months ago.
During the Nov. 6, 2008 spate of burglaries at the Southern Gables Church, 4001 S. Wadsworth Boulevard, members of the ring broke into several vehicles, including a 2001 Lexus, from which they took a number of personal items belonging to a local couple, including their credit cards and a purse, according to the indictment.
Degrote and a female cohort then posed as the victims and used the stolen credit cards “to purchase goods, merchandise or services at Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods totaling more than $1000.00 but less than $20,000.00,” according to the indictment.
The indictment also charges the woman, Abbie Worley, and Degrote used the identities stolen from the church to obtain other merchandise over the Internet, according to the indictment. Although Worley is named in connection with several crimes in the indictment – including computer-based theft, several auto burglaries and numerous instances of posing as victims to use their credit cards – she apparently was not charged by the Grand Jury.
Lakewood police investigators are aware of the indictment and are looking at other, similar cases in Lakewood to determine whether they could be linked, although no connections have been found yet, said LPD spokesman Steve Davis.
“We still have quite a few open, pending cases and we’ve got some evidence from some of those, including some fingerprints,” Davis said. “We may get lucky and find a link to these folks. But, as of yet, no.”
A rash of summer trailhead robberies in Lakewood led to the arrests of a number of other suspects who apparently are not linked to the suspects indicted by the Statewide Grand Jury, Davis said.
The indictment was handed down in December, but was not announced until Thursday.
Two other suspects -Travis Sheppard, 37, and Jack Beierle, 61 – also were charged with a number of felony crimes in the indictment.
The four Colorado men are suspected of entering vehicles in public parking lots at churches, parks and other public areas in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas, El Paso and Jefferson counties and stealing people’s identities and using the stolen personal information to make fraudulent purchases of goods or gift cards at area stores, gas stations and restaurants.
The indictment covers a series of auto break-ins linked to the suspected identity theft ring from October 2008 through April 2009, according to the Attorney General John Suther’s Office. Among the charges the four suspects faces are multiple counts of theft, identity theft, forgery, theft by computer, theft by receiving, unauthorized use of a financial device, attempt to influence a public official and criminal trespass of an automobile.
Prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit and the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute the cases in Boulder County District Court.
