SAN ANTONIO – A 40-year-old man is behind bars after police said he used a fake ID on a credit application for a Siberian husky puppy at Petland.
Leon Valley police said Tyler Anderson Freeman used a photoshopped temporary Texas Driver's license to apply for a $2,500 line of credit for the puppy on Nov. 25. According to an affidavit, Freeman stole the identity of a man living more than 2,000 miles away in Ferndale, Washington.
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The affidavit said the transaction was approved on the same day, and that Freeman left with the puppy, then lost it a few months later.
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An individual found the dog wandering in the streets on Jan. 10 and took the dog to a veterinary clinic where the dog was scanned for a microchip. The dog's microchip was registered under Petland in Leon Valley and the dog was returned to Petland that day. The puppy found a forever home soon after.
When authorities contacted the individual who found the dog, the person stated that they had seen a flyer on a telephone pole off of Scenic Loop Road looking for a lost husky puppy.
Freeman, police said, posted the fliers looking for the dog and included his cell phone number on the flier. Authorities in Leon Valley ran the cell phone number using police resources and the number came back to the identity Freeman allegedly stole, as well as an address to a home in the 19900 Scenic Loop Road.
The affidavit said Freeman used the Washington man's identity to open a fraudulent cell phone account and buy the puppy.
Grey Forest police went to the home under the pretense of assisting Freeman in his search for the dog and a woman at the residence told authorities Freeman's real name.
According to the affidavit, authorities ran his information through a criminal database and discovered Freeman had been arrested 34 times throughout Texas for crimes including forgery, theft, evading arrest, credit card abuse, possession of a controlled substances and assault.
In addition to the various arrests and prison sentences, Freeman, the affidavit said, is a verified, documented member of Aryan Circle Texas, a white supremacist prison gang according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Freeman is charged with fraudulent use or possession of identifying information and possession of a controlled substance, both felony offenses.