Tustin man arrested on warrant in connection to ID fraud, vehicle thefts in Santa Maria, SLO
Jan. 21—A Tustin man on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to fraud and firearms-related charges connected to two Santa Maria investigations after he was arrested earlier this month in Los Angeles, according to a Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman.
Kevin Rasmussen, 29, pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including identity theft, vehicle theft, possession of a controlled substance and having a gun, after appearing in Santa Maria court, according to Deputy District Attorney Madison Whitmore.
Rasmussen was located in Los Angeles County Jail on Jan. 5 and arrested on warrants in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, logs show. He was booked into the Main Jail, where his bail was listed at $200,000.
He was initially arrested on Aug. 24 after sheriff's deputies executed a search warrant at a residence in the 2200 block of Professional Parkway following an investigation into large-scale fraud, court records show. When Rasmussen was detained, he was allegedly sitting on a couch, on top of a Sig P365 9-millimeter handgun, with bags of methamphetamine and heroin nearby.
"All those things are mine," he allegedly said, court records show.
On Jan. 13, 2021, Rasmussen received more than a dozen charges related to identity and vehicle thefts from dealerships in Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo.
Two additional suspects in the investigations, Kimberly Machleit and Donald Anderson, are each facing murder-related charges.
Through the investigation, officials learned that Rasmussen used victims' credit lines and took advantage of the mask mandate to conceal his identity when purchasing high-end cars from dealerships.
A bench warrant was issued for Rasmussen on Aug. 24, 2021, when he failed to appear for his arraignment, records show.
Rasmussen is scheduled for a preliminary hearing setting on Jan. 24 in Department 7 of Superior Court in Santa Maria.
