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Alex Cabrero Reporting"It's pathetic, but we see an awful lot of it, and usually drugs are involved in these types of cases."
This deputy is talking about identity theft, and a recent case is about as low as you can get. Police have arrested a man they believe has been stealing the identities of people who have died. He was caught after renting a car in a dead man's name.
If this is all true, it's just plain morbid. Police say identity thieves will do anything... anything to get information. Like many people, Jimmie Huckins often visits the Salt Lake City cemetery. She likes to make sure everything is just right, but she never thought she might also need to check her mother’s credit report.
Jimmie Huckins, Visiting Mother's Gravesite: “It’ hard enough to bury them, and then you have to worry about something like that. That’s just too much.”
Not that anything was wrong. It's just she was a little bothered when we told her police had arrested a man whom they believe was stealing dead peoples identities.
Jimmie Huckins: “When people do that, it’s just low, it’s just real low.”
Twenty-eight year old Michael Jorgensen of Tooele was arrested by Woods Cross police charged with using a dead mans identity to rent a car.
Det. Brad Benson, Woods Cross Police Dept.: “I think it’s sad there are individuals out there looking at any way they can to defraud people, especially people that’s deceased.”
The identity he's charged with stealing is Kimball Jencks, the 84-year old Murray man who shot his terminally ill wife then himself inside Cottonwood Hospital last September. The couple had a pact they wanted to die together.
Steven Major, Davis County Deputy Attorney: “It appears he read the paper, had obtained it from the obituary or news story, and had used it to develop a driver’s license.”
When a loved one dies we never think to check their credit report or cancel department store credit cards, but with this latest case, detectives say it's something we might have to start thinking about.
Steven Major: “You’d like to have people rest in peace. And when they’re resting in peace in the ground, but their credit is running all over the country, it makes you upset about seeing that kind of thing.”
Jimmie Huckins: “It’s just, some people will do anything for money. And there are some things decent human beings shouldn’t lower themselves to do.” JIMMIE HUCKINS
Jorgensen is in the Davis County jail. If convicted he could face between one and 15 years.
