Laredo, Texas - Cop and wife turn themselves in to police
By Celina Alvarado, Laredo Morning Times. 05/26/2007
A Laredo Police officer and his wife were arrested Friday, accused of stealing a neighbor's identity to obtain credit for purchasing tires and a tune-up. Police said the two turned themselves in Friday afternoon after learning they both had outstanding warrants for their arrest.
The 39-year-old Officer Ruben Nuñez, a 15-year-veteran of the Laredo Police Department, and his wife, identified as 29-year-old Monica Melissa Nuñez, were taken into police custody just before 3 p.m., and served with an outstanding warrant each for fraudulent use of identifying information, a state jail felony. The two were booked at the Laredo Police Department main station and later taken to Webb County Jail.
Justice of the Peace Oscar Liendo set their bond at $50,000 each. Nuñez and Nuñez, who share five children, bonded out of jail two hours later, at 5 p.m., jail officials said.
Officer Nuñez was immediately placed on administrative leave without pay, pending a court hearing.
Laredo Police spokeswoman Officer Lisa Ruiz said details surrounding the investigation could not be disclosed Friday.She added that "generally speaking" people who get arrested for fraudulent use of identifying information are people who forge signatures or use somebody's personal information - such as Social Security numbers, date of birth, driver's license numbers or any other identifying information assigned to someone by the federal government - for the purpose of obtaining credit.
A complaint made Tuesday by Nuñez's neighbor, Maria E. Moore, named Nuñez and his wife as primary suspects in a plot to use her personal information to obtain a credit card.
The complaint sparked both a criminal and administrative investigation, which was conducted by the Laredo Police Department's Crimes Against Property White Collar Crime Unit and the Office of Public Integrity.
The investigation found that Nuñez had obtained a Firestone credit card under Moore's name and had charged a tune-up, an oil change, brake service and four tires to the card, police said.
"The criminal investigation was presented to the Webb County's District Attorney's Office for review and was granted warrant approval," Ruiz said.
Both Nuñez and his wife turned themselves in to police. If convicted, each faces up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
(Celina Alvarado may be reached at 728-2566 or celina@lmtonline.com)
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