A Berkeley resident faces 12 felony charges after a police officer discovered several stolen credit cards in his vehicle.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s office had charged Sean Alston, 43, with 11 counts of grand theft and one count of receiving stolen property. However, the court later dismissed the case, and it has now moved to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to Stephanie Chan, communications assistant at the Alameda County District Attorney’s office.
On Sept. 16, Berkeley police officer Benjamin Phelps arrested Alston at 12:59 a.m., according to the police report. Phelps had recognized Alston from a booking photo when he saw the suspect sitting behind the wheel of a black Ford Focus on Byron Street near Bancroft Way, the report states.
Phelps found four bank cards in Alston’s pants pockets, more access cards on the back seat of his car and two visa cards in a purse on a floor in the vehicle that Phelps knew belonged to a victim of mail credit card theft. He also found Alston to be in possession of a suspended license.
“Alston took full responsibility for all the cards in his possession and in the car,” Phelps stated in the police report.
Because Alston was on federal probation, he was subject to a search condition, according to the report.
He had previously been convicted of six felonies in Alameda and Contra Costa counties for possession of a controlled substance in 1998, two counts of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in 2004, forgery and second-degree burglary in 2006 and receiving stolen property in 2007. Alston served prison terms for three of the offenses.
BPD spokesperson Jennifer Coats said the police do not yet know how Alston obtained the stolen credit cards.
“Usually what’ll happen (after an arrest) is our detectives will follow up and see if there’s any other crimes that may be associated with his actions,” Coats said.
According to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California calendar, Alston was scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning.
Contact Melissa Wen at [email protected].