Hotel cleaning crew helps nab identity theft suspect

A man was arrested for identity theft in Liberty Lake Monday largely thanks to a hotel cleaning crew.

Employees at the Best Western Peppertree Inn called police on March 4 to report finding a plastic bag containing four driver’s licenses and social security cards in a room after two guests had checked out.

“All four driver’s licenses had the same picture of a man but with different names and birth dates,” said Liberty Lake Police Chief Brian Asmus.

On Monday the hotel manager called police to report that the man and the woman involved in the first incident were back but had rented a room using different names that before.

Police obtained a search warrant for the hotel room and found methamphetamine, a computer, a printer, a laminating machine, printed credit reports for multiple people and a ledger containing a long list of names and social security numbers.

Peter G. Reuteler, 36, was arrested on a single count of identity theft. Asmus said he spoke to a detective in the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office who is investigating Reuteler as a suspect in multiple similar identity theft cases. More charges are also likely based on the items found in Reuteler’s hotel room, Asmus said.

In 2007 Reuteler was sentenced to a lengthy prison term after pleading guilty to more than 30 charges, including identity theft and leading organized crime. Asmus said he believed Reuteler was released from prison recently.

His girlfriend, 30-year-old Kassandra S. Rancourt, was arrested on a felony drug warrant from Idaho.