HURRICANE, Utah, Nov. 26, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A man arrested Saturday in Hurricane is facing 11 felony charges and five misdemeanors after police say he used stolen financial cards.
Ryan James Griffin, 39, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was booked into the Washington County Jail after being arrested on Saturday. He faces initial charges of:
- Nine counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card without consent, a third-degree felony
- Unlawful use of a financial transaction card, a third-degree felony
- Unlawful possession of another’s (or multiple other’s) identification documents, a third-degree felony
- Failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer, a class A misdemeanor
- Two counts of giving false information to a peace officer, a class A misdemeanor
- Interference with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor
- Manufacture or possession of instruments for burglary or theft, a class B misdemeanor
According to a probable cause statement, on Saturday, Griffin tried to use one of several financial cards stolen after a vehicle’s window was broken in Kane County. Officials from the Hurricane Police Department found Griffin’s trail when he allegedly used a stolen card a Hurricane Walgreens on Saturday.
Officers arrived and learned a man, later identified as Griffin, had made more than $700 in purchases at the Walgreens, and his image was caught on surveillance footage. A notification then came in that the same card was being used at a 7-Eleven across the street, where Griffin’s vehicle was caught on surveillance.
An officer located the vehicle, a gray Honda minivan, in the parking lot of the Hurricane Walmart, and awaited Griffin’s exit from the store.
Griffin was notified he was being arrested as he began to load the minivan with merchandise. Griffin tried to flee, according to a probable cause statement, but soon after stopped and dropped to his knees and was arrested.
“In Ryan’s pockets, officers located multiple credit cards and ID cards that belonged to other individuals from multiple states,” the probable cause statement says.
“The vehicle was searched and the property that was purchased in Walmart and Walgreens was returned. In the vehicle there were ID cards and financial cards that belonged to eight different individuals, this included multiple social security cards,” the statement says.
“During a search of the vehicle I located two sharp-pointed glass breaking tools in the driver door.”
Griffin is being held on $10,000 bail.
