The Camp Verde Marshal’s Office announced on Wednesday, Sept. 2, that Christerful Ray Bryant Jr., 36, and Fatuma Salim, 30, of Phoenix were arrested on identity theft and a fraudulent purchase scheme at a Camp Verde store.
“On Aug. 10, a male and female suspect allegedly used another person’s identifying information to obtain a Tractor Supply credit account and purchase a $4,200 Toro zero-turn mower,” CVMO stated. “The suspects also rented a trailer to transport the mower, which was never returned.”
CVMO investigators reviewed surveillance footage and report that the suspects left the store in a dark-colored Jeep Wagoneer pulling the rental trailer.
“An [automated license plate reader] system captured the trailer and Jeep traveling southbound on Interstate 17. That information allowed investigators to identify the rental vehicle and develop information that ultimately led to,” CVMO wrote.
On Aug. 21, investigators located Bryant in the Phoenix area. A traffic stop was conducted near 19th Street and Broadway, and Bryant was taken into custody without incident.
During a subsequent search of the vehicle, investigators reportedly located the Camp Verde Tractor Supply rental agreement and receipts, along with numerous additional documents allegedly connecting him to multiple other fraudulent transactions in Arizona and California.
Bryant was booked into the Yavapai County Detention Center on multiple charges, including identity theft, fraudulent schemes, forgery, criminal impersonation, theft and unlawful failure to return rented property.
The investigation is ongoing and investigators are continuing efforts to locate the stolen trailer and the mower and determine if additional individuals and fraudulent transactions are connected.
CVMO has operated two stationary Leonardo ALPR cameras at the intersection of Finnie Flat Road and Cliffs Parkway since early 2024, and has since added Motorola mobile readers to patrol vehicles. Larson Newspapers previously reported that CVMO was cited in 26 searches of the Prescott Police Department’s Flock network — 20 run by Cottonwood police, six by Prescott. Of those searches 14 carried a case number and 12 did not.
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