A prolific identity thief was arrested Aug. 2 for trying to use stolen credit cards to buy guns online, according to Lynnwood Police.
According to charging documents, Joshua Spaulding tried to buy guns online from Lynnwood Gun.
The owner of Lynnwood Gun and Ammo saw Spaulding was trying to buy guns using stolen credit card numbers. A woman who was alerted to the fraud by her bank called Lynnwood Gun to report it.
Tiffany Teasdale, owner of Lynnwood Gun, had Spaulding come into the store to fill out the federal paperwork and notified police. She worked with police to set up a sting when Spaulding returned to pick up the gun.
Scroll down to continue reading
More news from KIRO 7
- Woman found dead in Lakewood business
- Woman sent to hospital after posing with octopus on face
- Kidnapped newborn, now US Marine, to meet FBI agent who rescued him
- Inspiring photos of couple before, after meth addiction go viral
- Do you have an investigative story tip? Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com
"We're going to set up a sting with Lynnwood because we're going to try to get this guy into custody," said Teasdale. "I don't want him doing this and I want him off the streets."
Instead of leaving with a weapon, he left in handcuffs.
"Who knows what he would have done if he had possession of that firearm, all the criminal activity he was doing before, who knows?" said Teasdale.
Spaulding is charged with attempted theft of a firearm and identity theft.
KIRO-7 first reported on Spaulding in April 2019.
Last Spring Spaulding and Donovan Park were charged with 16 counts of identity theft after an extensive investigation by the Bellevue Police Department. Investigators say Park stole a Rolex from a Bellevue Jewelry store and used stolen credit cards to buy thousands of dollars work of high-end sunglasses. The pair lived in hotels and drove flashy cars, according to police. When police searched their hotel rooms they found they'd bought stolen credit card numbers on the dark web.
After his recent arrest, Spaulding posted bond and was released from the Snohomish County Jail on Aug. 7.
KIRO-7 talked to Jason Goold, who had a run-in with the pair in April. Spaulding rented an apartment from Goold through Luxsle Luxury Apartment Rentals. Goold says Spaulding used a stolen credit card number. When he found the card was stolen he looked up Spaulding on the internet and found the previous story on KIRO-7. Goold went to kick him out of the apartment. Spaulding was arrested by Seattle Police.
Goold doesn't understand why Spaulding keeps getting out.
"The police arrested him, put him in jail. They let him back out and now he's running around trying to buy guns with stolen credit card information. That's not right, " said Jason, Luxsle Luxury Apartment Rentals.
Spaulding and Park have cases pending in Lynnwood, Seattle and Bellevue.
Cox Media Group
