The Mills County Sheriff’s Office has been steadily working thefts and burglaries throughout the county. Deputies are still recovering stolen property from recent burglaries as well as taken on new cases. On Monday, February 15 ,2016, Mills County Deputies took a report of theft of two children’s four wheelers being stolen from a residence in Goldthwaite. During the course of the investigation it discovered that a familiar face had evolved once again. 31 year old Michael Ynostrosa who owns and operates a local tree trimming service had been at the residence with his employees prior to the four wheelers being stolen. Ynostrosa had been previously arrested for possession of methamphetamine and a weapon near the Goldthwaite Middle School. Deputies worked diligently on the theft case and on Tuesday, March 1, 2015, Chief Deputy Chris Green and Investigator Stephanie Brown recovered the two four wheelers from Ynostrosa’s mother’s residence in Brownwood, Texas. At this time Theft charges are pending against Ynostrosa and his mother who has also been identified. Sheriff Hammonds is cautioning the citizens that have in the past or are considering using Ynostrosa in the future for tree services to be sure and secure your belongings and residence.
Sheriff Hammonds along with a local business owner wanted the citizens to be aware of another theft issue affecting residents. Sheriff Hammonds reported that in mid-February several local citizens had been reporting to the Mills County Sheriff’s Office of unapproved purchases on credit cards in the Killeen and Austin area. For several weeks deputies took in reports and were able to determine that most of the victims had made purchases at local businesses. Investigators began meeting with some of the local gas stations and warning them of a possible credit card breach. During their research a credit card skimmer was located that had been placed on a single fuel pump outside of a local business. It was determined that the device had been there for less than 48 hours before being discovered by the business owner. Sheriff Hammonds stated that the device is not very sophisticated and can be purchased online. Once the device is installed it has Blue Tooth technology that allows the suspects to just drive near the area to download the information without detection or affecting the normal transactions. “During our investigation we learned that this is a new trend of criminal activity that spans from the east and west coast and unfortunately they found Goldthwaite” Sheriff Hammonds said. Sheriff Hammonds wants to remind citizens to routinely check your banking accounts to ensure that they don’t fall victim and lose their hard earned money. For more information regarding credit card skimmers like this one please go to the following website: http://blogs.cisco.com/security/card_skimmers_using_bluetooth_demonstrate_security_challenges_for_borderles
Clint Hammonds