The San Luis Obispo County sheriff on Thursday released surveillance photos of two suspects wanted in an identity theft investigation involving purchases from several Costco stores across the state, including in Santa Maria.
The investigation began on Feb. 18 when a woman reported a stolen purse from her home in Templeton, according to sheriff's spokesman Tony Cipolla.
The purse contained credit cards, cash and a checkbook, which was used on March 6 to make purchases at Costcos in Fresno, Hanford, San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria.
Additionally, checks were passed at a Bank of America in Fresno, Cipolla said, adding that the amount of the checks totaled approximately $5,000.
Santa Maria Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating a robbery that occurred at the Community Bank on South Broadway on Friday.
Investigators secured surveillance photographs of the suspects from Costco and alerted law enforcement agencies in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Kings, Kern and Fresno counties.
The suspects are described as one male and a female, both white, and approximately 50 to 70 years old. It's believed the two are associated with a white, extended-cab pickup truck that looks like a 2004 or newer model Ford F-150, Cipolla said.
Anyone with information on the suspects or the incident is asked to contact the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department at 805-781-4550.
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