Three arrested in Bend ID theft, drug raid
A 29-year-old man arrested with two roommates in a raid on their southeast Bend home is facing 40 computer crime-related counts, accused of hacking into databases and creating fake credit cards used by him and others to buy methamphetamine and other items, police said Thursday.
Bend police raided a home at 20242 Fairway Drive on Tuesday, assisted by the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team and Deschutes County Parole and Probation, said Cpl. Rob Emerson.
There they arrested Stevan Lyle Hemingway and two roommates, Carol Lynn Darling, 40, and Andrew Wayne Brown, 38.
The search warrant resulted from a month-long investigation of Hemingway in which police found he was getting financial information by hacking into protected databases, Emerson said.
Hemingway then allegedly created credit cards with the financial information and used them as currency to obtain meth, also distributing the cards to others. They were used at numerous Bend businesses to make fraudulent purchases, Emerson said.
Computer gear was seized from the home, along with numerous fraudulent credit cards and a small amount of meth. Emerson said Darling and Brown also were in possession of a small amount of the drug.
More victims, arrests and charges are expected in the ongoing investigation, Emerson said.
Hemingway remained jailed Thursday on 10 counts each of computer crime, ID theft, criminal conspiracy and possession of a forged instrument. He’s also charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, theft, meth possession, frequenting a location where drugs are kept, used or sold and an outstanding felony warrant on a related case with similar charges.
Darling and Brown were charged with meth possession and frequenting, and were released to responsible third parties, a jail officer said.