SAFFORD — An air freshener led to a vehicle’s passenger being arrested on a number of fraud charges.
A Safford Police officer conducted a traffic stop based on the air freshener hanging from a vehicle’s rearview mirror, which is a violation of Arizona Revised Statute. The driver produced a Florida learner’s permit and the passenger claimed he didn’t have identification on him, but did have a photo of his Florida ID.
The two men said they were traveling from Texas to Phoenix to visit a friend, and agreed to allow officers to search the vehicle.
The search found three driver’s licenses — one from Texas, one from Alabama and the third from North Carolina — all with different names but with the photo of the passenger. There were also three PNC bank cards that matched the names on the licenses.
The passenger said the licenses and cards weren’t his and didn’t know how his photo came to be on the licenses.
The man was taken into custody and booked into Graham County Jail on charges of taking the identity of another person, forgery of a credit card, fraudulent schemes and artifices, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
