Fatal crash suspect linked to ID theft

SEATTLE – A motorist who was arrested following a fatal crash has come under scrutiny in an identity theft probe stretching to Minnesota, police say.

Five apparently stolen credit cards, some plastic bags of marijuana and five credit card numbers were found in the 24-year-old man’s 2001 Jeep Cherokee, and a Minnesota woman’s credit cards also have been used to buy a $1,500 television that was in the back of the vehicle, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in King County Superior Court.

The Jeep was impounded after it hit Karen B. Pritchett, 53, as she was crossing the street in the city’s Rainier Valley neighborhood, and the TV, credit cards and card numbers were found when the vehicle was searched Jan. 30. A second search warrant was obtained and the items were seized on Feb. 8, police said.

“Until they searched through this stuff, they had no idea and this just opened up a whole can of worms,” Officer Mark A. Jamieson said. “I don’t think they have come up with a determination as to how many victims there are.”

The driver was arrested and jailed after the crash for investigation of drunken driving but was released the next day and no charges have been filed.

According to the affidavit, the man works for Northwest Airlines, based in Eagan, Minn. A paycheck stub and notepad from Horizon Air and a Northwest boarding pass were found in the Jeep, but airline representatives told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer neither had an employee in the name given by the man.

The man was convicted in 2004 of identity theft in neighboring Pierce County in a case involving an attempt to buy a big-screen television with a fraudulent credit account at a Sears store in Puyallup, according to court records.