SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 5, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A man who called dispatch for law enforcement help after he ran out of gas on a remote part of Interstate 80 found himself booked on 11 felony charges shortly after officers arrived.
Thomas Oates, 39, was arrested Saturday.
Oates “requested assistance due to his vehicle running out of gas and gave a false name and date of birth to a suspect with an NCIC warrant,” says his probable cause statement, filed by an officer of the Summit County Sheriff‘s Office. NCIC stands for National Crime Information Center.
“When I arrived, Thomas was placed in custody for the warrant and advised me he had a syringe and drugs in his pocket. A search of his person revealed a user amount of methamphetamines. Thomas was then transported to the Summit County Jail where two credit cards belonging to another person, three identification cards belonging to another person, and a social security card belonging to another person were located on his person.”
While at the jail, Oates was identified by his fingerprints, the probable cause statement says.
“A search of the vehicle revealed over 100 pieces of mail belonging to other persons, drug paraphernalia, six identification cards belonging to other persons, a social security card belonging to another person, and four fraudulent checks with a printer possibly used as a forgery writing device.
“The license plate on the vehicle was listed stolen on NCIC and dispatch later confirmed the vehicle was reported stolen by Ean Holdings LLC in November of 2022.”
Oates was booked on suspicion of:
- Theft by receiving stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony
- Theft of mail containing identifying info of 10+ individuals, a second-degree felony
- Four counts of possession of forgery writing/device, a third-degree felony
- Four counts of unlawful acquisition/possession/transfer of a financial card, a third-degree felony
- Possession of another’s identifying documents, greater than two and less than 100, a third-degree felony
- False personal info with intent to be another actual person, a class A misdemeanor
- Possession of a controlled substance schedule I/II/analog, a class A misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Theft by receiving stolen property, a class B misdemeanor
Oates was ordered held without bail.
