Teamwork of 3 Police Agencies Credited with Arrest of Identity Theft Suspect

By Bay City—

An Oakland man suspected of buying jewelry with a fraudulent credit card in the Bay Area was arrested in Dublin Thursday night.

Sonoma police Sgt. Spencer Crum said a man purchased four gold bracelets worth $6,867 at four Sonoma jewelry stores on Jan 13 and 14. The man used a fraudulent credit card in the name of an identity theft victim named Ryan Mahoney, Crum said.

Sonoma deputies downloaded video from the jewelry stores and distributed a digital flier to all Bay Area law enforcement agencies.

A detective from the San Bruno Police Department recognized the man in the photo as Eric Aguirre Zatarain, 28, of Oakland, Crum said.

Zatarain is on probation for other identity theft crimes and is believed to have used Mahoney's name in numerous jewelry store thefts in the Bay Area, Crum said.

Zatarain's booking photos, vehicle and his distinctive tattoos matched the description of the video surveillance from the Sonoma Jewelry store thefts, Crum said. Police got a $100,000 warrant for his arrest.

Dublin police arrested Zatarain around 7:30 p.m. Thursday on the warrant as he was waiting in a vehicle while a female accomplice was trying to buy jewelry with fraudulent credit cards, Crum said.

Zatarain was booked in the Alameda County jail and was later booked in the Sonoma County jail for burglary, identity theft and theft by a forged access card, Crum said.