December 15, 2025 – Amador County Sheriff’s Office officials report that on November 30, a man called the Sheriff’s Office to report that he lost his very unique wallet at a bar the night before and there had been several fraudulent charges to the credit card that was in his wallet. A deputy contacted the victim and initiated a credit card and identity theft investigation. The investigating deputy contacted multiple businesses where the stolen card had been used to obtain video surveillance of the thief.
On December 6, a different deputy conducted a proactive traffic stop on Coal Mine Road, in Jackson Valley, on a blue Ford Explorer for expired registration. The deputy contacted the occupants, including a Stockton man, who was wearing a red flannel coat, was on probation, and had a felony warrant for his arrest. During a search of the vehicle, the deputy found the man to be in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. The man had four prior convictions for various drug related crimes, which meant the current possession was a felony violation of California’s Proposition 36. Before going to jail, the man asked the deputy to collect his wallet from the vehicle. You might see where this is going…
On December 9, the first deputy received a call from a local business that the video surveillance related to the credit card theft case was ready to be picked up. Upon reviewing the video, the deputy observed a man wearing a red flannel coat purchase multiple items with the stolen credit card and then leave the store in (you guessed it) a blue Ford Explorer. The deputy quickly discovered it was the same vehicle stopped on the 6th, which had resulted in the arrest of the Stockton man, who happened to still be in custody in our jail. The deputy examined the personal items brought into the jail with the man, which included a very unique wallet…though it now contained the Stockton man’s cards. Upon being confronted with the evidence, the man quickly confessed to the identity theft and was booked on multiple additional felony charges…