CLOVIS - During the month of January, the City of Clovis typically sees an increase in theft and vehicle burglaries. To combat these crimes, the Clovis Police Department has increased patrols during these cold, foggy nights. Early Monday morning, several additional officers proactively patrolled Clovis neighborhoods with a mission to proactively prevent theft. The officers patrolled in both marked and unmarked police vehicles.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. Monday morning, a Clovis Police Officer was patrolling the “Wawona Ranch” neighborhood near Minnewawa and Nees. He noticed two males walking through the neighborhood, one on each side of the street. Upon contact, the officer determined one of the males had a warrant, and he was arrested. When the males were searched, evidence of identity theft was located. Officers believe the males were in the area looking into vehicles and mailboxes.
During the investigation, officers located two vehicles in the area related to both males. Inside one of the parked vehicles, a female was contacted by officers. When the vehicles were searched, officers located the identifying information of over 500 potential victims, along with mail and other items used to print and make false documents.
All three suspects, named below, were arrested for the following charges:
Marvin Wines Jr., 48 of Fresno
PC 530.5(c)(2)-Identity Theft
Ernesto Luna Jr., 41 of Hanford
PC 530.5(c)(3)-Identity Theft
PC 466-Possession of Burglary Tools
Teresa Fox, 51 of Fresno
PC 530.5(c)(3)-Idenity Theft
PC 496(a)-Possession of Stolen Property
PC 470(b)-Possession of a Fake Drivers License/Identification Card
All three arrestees were processed at the Clovis Police Department and booked into the Fresno County jail.
Clovis Police Detectives are still working to contact potential victims. This investigation is ongoing. As a reminder to Clovis residents, please remove all valuable items, including identifying information, from your vehicles. Lock your doors and set the vehicles alarm if equipped. As always, please call the department's dispatch center at 324-2800 if you notice suspicious activity in your neighborhood.
