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Police in Torrance, California arrested a man on Monday who reportedly had over 300 stolen gubernatorial recall ballots, among other illegal items in his possession.
The man, who is an unidentified felon, had police called on him because he was reportedly passed out in a vehicle outside a 7-11.
That’s when police found a treasure trove of illegal possessions.
According to The Mercury News:
The ballots were discovered in the back seat of a vehicle while officers were checking on a man at the request of a caller who said he was passed out in the driver’s seat in a 7-Eleven parking lot on Emerald Street at around 10:45 p.m. on Aug. 16, Torrance Sgt. Mark Ponegalek said.
Officers also found the loaded firearm, drugs, and driver’s licenses and credit cards in other peoples’ names, police said.
The man, a felon, was arrested on suspicion of illegal possession of a firearm, illegal narcotics and stolen property and identity theft. He had not yet been charged in this case, Ponegalek said.
The “majority” of the ballots found were “sealed and in addressed envelopes,” and after an investigation into how the suspect came in possession of them, the Torrance Police Department (TPD) will be working with county officials to get the recall ballots to their rightful recipients.
Any way you slice it, this is attempted fraud. Why else would you have stolen ballots in your possession?
Playing devil's advocate, one could surmise that because the suspect also had stolen driver’s licenses and credit cards, he might have used the addresses on the ballots as a means to steal others identities.
Whatever the investigation finds, questions still remain. How did the suspect come into possession of the ballots, and why were they apparently so easy to steal in the first place?
For local coverage of this story, watch below: