Sisters police bust traveler for forgery

Jim Cornelius

Charles Edward Richardson of Lowell, Oregon, was just one of many travelers who stopped in Sisters last week to do a little shopping. But, according to Sisters Police, the checks and credit card he used were not his.

Police arrested Richardson, 44, on August 29, on charges of forgery and theft after he allegedly used checks and a credit card he found in a purse at a boat landing on the McKenzie River to buy tires and a meal in Sisters.

According to police reports, staff at the Les Schwab Taylor Tire Center became suspicious and contacted police when Richardson came in to buy wheels and tires for his Ford Ranger and did not return to pay for them or leave his keys as requested.

Richardson and a female companion, Penny Marie Crum, did eventually return and paid for the tires with a check, but tire store staff noted that the truck license plate didn't match the plate on the vehicle registration.

Police found Richardson's vehicle and stopped him after he allegedly made numerous traffic violations. When a Sisters officer contacted Richardson, the officer noted that the plates on the truck were not the same as the ones on the truck when it was at the tire store.

According to police, when the driver first identified himself, he seemed "hesitant" about the spelling of his name and unsure of his date of birth. The Sisters officer reported that the driver kept trying to look at a checkbook the driver was holding.

When the officer asked him if that was in fact his name, the driver allegedly gave him another name. The officer checked passenger Crum for wants and warrants and found her wanted on a $50,000 warrant for failure to appear. She was taken into custody.

The officer reported that when he looked at the checkbook the driver was holding, he found a checkbook, a driver's license and other identification belonging to a Sacramento, California, woman.

The officer seized the truck pending determination of ownership and a search turned up a VISA card belonging to the California woman and citations naming Charles Edward Richardson.

The officer arrested Richardson for driving while suspended and giving false information to a police officer. According to police, Richardson later admitted who he was and that he and Crum used the California woman's checks to buy the tires and he used the credit card to buy a meal. He also allegedly admitted to using the credit card in Lane County.

According to police, Richardson claimed he found the California woman's purse in a portable toilet at a boat landing on the McKenzie River.

Richardson also allegedly took a license plate off a car in Sisters to use while buying the tires and then buried it in the gravel near the Sisters Ranger District office.

Police recovered the plate, located the California woman and returned her property, and Les Schwab recovered the tires.

Richardson was lodged in jail on three counts of second degree forgery, one count of second degree theft and two counts of third degree theft as well as driving violations and giving false information to an officer.