Police make arrests and seize evidence in check forgery case
By Gloria I. Wang
A check forgery at a Los Gatos business has led to arrests in connection with a series of crimes throughout the county.
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police officers executed a search warrant on a San Jose residence March 12 and arrested four people after finding bank checks that had been tampered with, along with stolen mail and credit cards. Police took San Jose residents Kelly Montalvo, Lawrence Vieyra, Michael Klein and Angel Romeo into custody.
The investigation began in January when Ace Hardware on Los Gatos Boulevard notified police that someone had forged a check at the store. Another suspect, who was not arrested, lived on Bordwell Drive in San Jose. That resulted in officers obtaining a search warrant for the home. Police found more than 500 pieces of evidence, including acetone to wash the checks so they could be rewritten, and a small amount of methamphetamine.
Romeo, 25, was charged with possession of methamphetamine; Klein, 19, was charged with possession of methamphetamine and felony warrants for previous drug offenses. Police charged Vieyra, 41, with possessing stolen property. Bail amounts have not yet been set for the three suspects.
No bail will be set for Montalvo, 39, because she allegedly violated probation. She was also charged with possessing stolen property, possessing altered bank checks and delaying police officers in the performance of their duties. According to Detective Sgt. Tim Morgan, Montalvo ran from the police and hid under a pile of dirty laundry to escape arrest. Police had to drag Montalvo out, Morgan said.
Morgan said at least 10 victims have been identified and more than 50 victims are expected.
"The banks are actually the victims," said Morgan, "because the banks are reimbursing the account holders." The problem is, however, that it will be difficult to identify the victimized banks because most of the checks seized as evidence were forged--created and printed by the suspects.
Except for Ace Hardware, none of the known victims are from Los Gatos; most of the mail was stolen from homes in San Jose and Campbell. Morgan said one of the victims lived around the corner from the Bordwell Drive residence.
The police department worked closely with the United States Postal Service in the course of the investigation, as they are doing with similar stolen-mail crimes in Los Gatos.
At press time, no arraignment date was set for the four suspects.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
