(Press Release) Clovis Police are searching for the primary suspect in what began as the embezzlement of a rental car and a hotel room via a stolen debit card on Friday (July 13th), and expanded to encompass burglary, counterfeiting and identity theft cases. Officers are on the lookout for 40-year-old Michael Kitley, a transient. He’s wanted for commercial burglary, making counterfeit money, a felony bench warrant and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Officers arrested 23-year-old Toni Marie Taylor, a transient, and 24-year-old Ashlee Marie Gilbert of Fresno at the Marriott Fairfield Inn on Clovis Avenue. Both were arrested Friday for having felony bench warrants and for making counterfeit money.
Clovis Police were called to the hotel to take reports on burglaries in one hotel room. Two guests say someone stole an iPod, iPod docking station, iPhone and an AC adapter. All of the stolen items were recovered from the suspects’ room and returned.
Just before officers arrived on scene, someone saw Kitley jump out of a second story window and run off. One woman allowed the officers to come into their room where they found counterfeit cash. Meantime, police got a search warrant for the embezzled vehicle, the fraudulently obtained room and a cell phone. Inside the Dodge crossover and the room, officers found a lot of stolen property including electronics, cameras, purses and access cards. Officers also found a lot of evidence of identity theft, and are in the process of trying to notify as many as 100 potential victims.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Michael Kitley, you are asked to call the Clovis Police Department at 324-2800 or CrimeStoppers at 498-STOP.
TXT 24
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