Inland Empire Man Received Funeral Donations For Living Boy: Cops

INLAND EMPIRE, CA -- An Inland Empire man and two teenage boys were arrested Monday for allegedly soliciting funeral donations for a boy who is alive and well. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said Richard Navarrete, 20, of San Bernardino, along with two 14-year-olds whose names were not released, were holding signs soliciting donations at US Highway 395 and Palmdale Road.

The signs indicated the donations were for the funeral of a young boy, whose photo was attached, the Sheriff's Department said.

Through investigation, deputies discovered the boy was not deceased and was in fact the son of Navarrete’s friend. Each of the subjects had water bottles containing money that had been donated as a result of the fraudulent signs, officials said.

Navarrete was arrested and will be booked at High Desert Detention Center for theft by false pretenses. The two juveniles were also arrested and will be booked at High Desert Juvenile Detention Center for theft by false pretenses.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact Deputy Medawar or Deputy Demara at the Victorville Police Department at (760) 241-2911 or Sheriff’s Dispatch at (760) 956-5001.

Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463) or you may leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.

--Photos courtesy of San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department