AK-47, High-capacity Magazines Seized Following Stanford Shopping Center Fraud

Palo Alto Police officers arrested an Oakland man for using fraudulent credit cards at Stanford Shopping Center. But the story doesn’t end there—detectives pursued an investigation into the suspect, culminating with a SWAT team search of the man’s home. They found “an illegal AK-47 assault rifle, a handgun that had been reported stolen during a residential burglary in Manteca in March 2012, high-capacity loaded magazines, and additional evidence of identity theft to include more fraudulent credit cards,” according to Det. Sgt. Brian Philip.

The case began on Feb. 4 when Anthony Alder, 31, allegedly used altered credit cards at several shops at Stanford Shopping Center. According to police, he was in possession of 11 altered or fraudulent credit cards. All of the credit cards had his name on them, but the card numbers belonged to other people.

Alder was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on felony charges of burglary, possession and use of fraudulent credit cards, and use of personal identifying information of another.

“Because all of the fraudulent credit cards were in Alder’s true name but bore legitimate credit card numbers belonging to others, the cards were clearly altered or possibly manufactured,” according to Philip. “With this in mind, detectives obtained a search warrant for Alder’s residence in Oakland because it is not uncommon for those entrenched in identity theft-related crimes to own sophisticated credit card manufacturing equipment and supplies.”

Police also learned that Alder could own illegal assault weapons. So, according to Philip, “For the safety of the officers, detectives requested the assistance of the Palo Alto Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team to assist with the service of the search warrant.”

Alder had posted bail, so he was home when the search warrant was executed on Monday, Feb. 11. He was arrested and booked into the Alameda County Main Jail. He is charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of an illegal assault weapon, possession of stolen property, and a probation violation.

Also on Patch

Support Growing for Palo Alto Gun Buy Back

Robber Slams Woman to Ground on Downtown Palo Alto Street

Two Teens Arrested for Taking Weapons to Palo Alto High School

Man Killed by Train in Palo Alto Identified

Like this and other local news? Get our daily newsletter, it'll make life just a little bit easier!