Saturday, November 7th at 11:30 a.m.
SMPD Officers responded to TJ MAXX on the 1200 block of 4th St. regarding a fraud in progress. Dispatchers relayed that the reporting party had his wallet stolen in North Hollywood and was now receiving notices that his card was currently being used at the TJ MAXX. Dispatchers contacted the store to inform them of possible fraudulent activity and received a suspect description. Upon arrival, Officers approached the potential suspect as he was completing a transaction and asked to see the credit card he had used to pay. The suspect provided several credit cards, which the cashier confirmed did not match the card he had just paid with. A search of the individual yielded results of the reporting party’s wallet and credit card, matching the card he had used to make several transactions with. Joseph Anthony Flores was arrested and later issued a citation on a 530.5(a) PC- Identity Theft and a 484(g)PC- Fraud. Flores was held in jail due to being on probation for Burglary out of San Bernardino.
