STAFF REPORTS
A 41-year-old man was arrested on identity theft and other charges after the Hays County Sheriff’s Office responded to a case of credit card fraud at Cabela’s in Buda on April 19, investigators say.
A deputy stopped Troy Jay Bird driving a green Ford F-250 truck, towing a white trailer near Cabela’s, police say. Bird, of Corpus Christi, showed the deputy a fake driver’s license. The deputy then found other forms of identification on the suspect, each under a different name.
Cabela’s employees told investigators that Bird had made purchases using several fraudulent credit cards that he had made.
Investigators searched Bird’s trailer and seized instruments used to make fake IDs, officials say.
“One of the ways he was getting personal information was to drive down streets looking for unsecure wifi sites,” said Hays County spokesperson Leroy Opiela.
Bird was charged with three counts of tampering with a government record, a second degree felony; fraudulent use and possession of identifying information, a state jail felony; and possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor.
On April 21, Bird was released after posting bonds totaling $23,000, police say.
The sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division and the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division are following up on this case.