Stolen Card Spree Goes Up in Smoke

A pair of Californians accused of buying medical marijuana with a credit card account of a prominent Virginia legislator gave themselves up to police after their apparent identity theft received high profile, if bemused, news coverage.

Sacramento's ABC affiliate, News 10, reported that Bernell Washington, 24, and Sky Manriquez, 21, surrendered to police after their alleged shopping spree on a credit card belonging to Sen. Richard Saslaw, the Democratic leader of the Virginia state Senate, made headlines in the area. Saslaw told News 10 that he thinks his American Express card number was skimmed at a Virginia restaurant where he ate with two other Virginia state legislators, both of whom subsequently became victims of identity theft as well.

Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer also said Washington had outstanding weapons charges, and told the KMJ radio station the alleged identity thief was dangerous.

Washington and Manriquez were charged with felony identity theft. According to the CBS 13 television station in Sacramento, they allegedly opened several credit cards in the senator's name, and charged various items to the accounts. They also are accused of changing Saslaw's address in Fairfax County, Va., to a Fresno street address.

Saslaw said he certainly wasn't the purchaser of $225 worth of medicinal marijuana at the Fruitridge Health and Wellness Collective. "I'm 70 years old," he said. "I'm past the generation that used to do that."