Two Arrested on Grand Theft Auto, Fraud Charges

Two men in a stolen rental car were arrested in the Walmart parking lot early Tuesday morning after they purchased gift cards and other items using stolen credit card information.

Michael Joseph Maldanado, 30, and Sergio Tinoco Ruiz, 29, both of Ontario, were arrested at around 1:30 a.m. after a Glendora Police officer ran the license plate number on the vehicle the suspects were driving and determined that it was stolen from an Ontario rental car service.

Police also discovered the pair used fraudulent re-encoded credit cards to make purchases at Walmart.

Lt. Jamie Caldwell said such purchases – where thieves will input stolen credit card data onto the magnetic strips of their own credit cards –  are becoming increasingly common.

“Businesses like Walmart are pretty good about catching that sort of thing,” said Caldwell. “They’ll check to see if the name on the data matches the name on the card.”

After an initial search, police also found the two suspects were in possession of methamphetamine.

Maldanado was charged with vehicle theft, burglary, receiving of known stolen property worth more than $400, driving with a suspended license, among other charges. Ruiz had a no bail warrant and was charged with possession of methamphetamine.

The two are expected to appear in West Covina court Thursday.