On Saturday, Lakeport Police Department officers received a report of stolen credit/debit cards being used at O’Reilly Auto Parts and Kmart after the card owner was notified of fraudulent activity by his bank. Officers identified Alexander Gene Gard, 23, of Lakeport as a suspect.
According to law enforcement officials, the victim’s wallet had been reported lost or stolen earlier in the morning. Officers responded to find that the suspect was gone but received a description. Being that the two businesses are near the department’s station, officers reviewed the station’s camera footage, which covers the surrounding area, and were able to pinpoint Gard as the suspect involved in the fraud.
Officers developed information that Gard could be at Sutter Lakeside Hospital and at approximately 5:30 p.m. Saturday located him on the grounds of that facility hiding behind an air conditioning unit. Gard was in possession of the victim’s wallet, credit card and identification as well as some medical equipment and supplies that he stole from the hospital.
Gard was arrested for felony charges of burglary and forgery and misdemeanor charges of possession of stolen property and violation of probation. Gard was transported to the Lake County Jail where he was booked. Gard has an extensive history of theft and drug (methamphetamine) related charges and this is his third arrest in the past 30 days. On Aug. 19, Gard was arrested for possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of controlled substance paraphernalia and violation of probation. On July 24, Gard was arrested for possession of stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and the destruction or concealment of evidence. Further, according to police, in the past eight months Gard has been involved as a suspect in nine investigations conducted by the department. Going back to 2014, Gard also has been investigated or arrested by Lakeport P.D. for these types of charges a total of approximately 13 times.
“It is our opinion that Gard has not faced any significant consequences for his theft or drug possession related activities due largely to the passage of Proposition 47 in 2014”, said Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen. Rasmussen further stated that regardless of law changes, Lakeport Police will work hard to remove drugs and thieves from our streets and that he is proud of our community members, neighborhood watch groups, business owners and officers working together to eliminate this type of behavior in our city.
