Shoreline Man Arrested for Identity Theft on I-90

A Shoreline man and his passenger were arrested for identity theft after stolen property, drugs and a dangerous weapon are found during a traffic stop on Interstate 90.

On Oct. 14, 2011 at 1:40 p.m., a vehicle traveling eastbound I-90 east of North Bend drew the attention of a State Patrol trooper when it made sudden jerking motions side to side in its lane.  

The front seat passenger, Amanda Sasnett of Bothell, was not wearing a seatbelt and said it was broken when stopped.  After observing drug paraphernalia the trooper was given permission to search the car and discovered several pieces of mail, a birth certificate, credit and identification cards in a bag.  

None of the documents matched the identity of the driver or passenger and neither would claim the bag as belonging to them.  A stun gun was located in the driver’s side door compartment.  The driver, Benjamin Nathan of Shoreline, gave another drivers information but had no identification with him.

Once the driver’s true identity was known it was established he had an outstanding warrant for identity theft and his driver license was suspended.

Both suspects were booked into the King County Jail for investigation of related charges including, identity theft and outstanding warrants.

Following the stop the identity theft victim was contacted and stated that she had her car broken into two days prior.  The items taken from the car were reported stolen after the break-in.

Drivers are reminded to keep identification items secured in the event of a break-in.  If items or documents that could be used in an identity theft crime are missing, follow up with the local agency to see if a compromised identity claim is needed.  Information on what Criminal Identity Theft is and the Compromised Identity Claim form are available on the Washington State Patrol web site athttp://www.wsp.wa.gov/crime/chupdates.htm.

Information supplied by the Washington State Patrol.