Man placed on rider after police find him with thousands of stolen credit card numbers
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IDAHO FALLS — A judge has sentenced a man police found with dozens of stolen credit cards and thousands of credit card numbers.
Christopher William Marquez, 28, was placed on a rider program on Jan. 24 after pleading guilty to felony grand theft, felony theft from a bank account, and felony possession of a controlled substance. District Judge Dane H. Watkins Jr. placed Marquez on the rider program while giving an underlying prison sentence of three- to 14-years.
As part of a plea agreement, Bonneville County prosecutors agreed to drop two felony counts of fraudulent possession of a credit card, felony burglary, felony grand theft and misdemeanor petit theft. The plea agreement also stipulated prosecutors and defense attorneys would recommend Marquez be placed into a rider program.
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A rider program is where a judge sends a person to prison for up to a year to undergo different treatment programs. When the inmate has completed the program, the judge can then decide to send them back to prison or release them on probation.
The Idaho Falls Police Department arrested Marquez in Dec. 2020 while on the lookout for a man fraudulently using someone’s name and credit cards to stay at local hotels. A Holiday Inn Express called police when someone checked in using the name they had been warned about, according to court documents.
When officers arrived, they found Marquez in a hotel room. Marquez admitted he used the victim’s credit card and name to check into the hotel.
Marquez gave police permission to search his wallet.
Inside, investigators say they found several credit cards with other people’s names. Officers also found 1.75 grams of methamphetamine that Marquez at first said belonged to someone else before claiming it as his own.
A further search of the room uncovered a total of 66 credit cards. Police also found nine notebooks containing potentially thousands of credit card numbers, according to court documents. Investigators wrote in a report that they had not yet determined if all the numbers written in the notebooks work.
It’s’ not clear how Marquez got all of the credit cards and the numbers. Court documents indicate Marquez told police friends gave him the cards.
In addition to the time on the rider, court records show Marquez was ordered to pay $2,931 in fees and fines.