Media Contact: Sgt. Hauptmann
Office: 818-937-8888
Cell: 818-299-1565
Email: GPDPIO@Glendaleca.gov

Three Arrested for Identity Theft

On June 1, 2022 just before 1:00 a.m., a Glendale PD patrol officer conducted a traffic enforcement stop on a vehicle near the intersection of Foothill Blvd. and Pennsylvania Ave. for an equipment violation. The driver, 21-year-old Samuel Refugio-Vinalay of Huntington Park was unable to provide a license or registration. The vehicle was occupied by two passengers, 32-year-old Andrew Baraza of Bell Gardens, and 19-year-old Jose Romero of Bell. While speaking with the males, the officer could smell a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle and observed multiple open containers of marijuana inside of the vehicle in plain view. A vehicle search produced three debit cards belonging to other individuals, approximately 41 checks that belonged to 30 different people, vehicle registration in another individual’s name, and several other documents belonging to other people containing personal identifying information. Refugio-Vinalay, Baraza, and Romero were all arrested and booked for identity theft.