Man Arrested Again For Renting OC Hotel Rooms With Stolen Credit Numbers

ORANGE (CBSLA.com) — A 37-year-old man was arrested Thursday after allegedly using stolen credit card numbers to rent hotel rooms in Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

Harold Eric Larson was arrested around 4 p.m. after Laguna Beach police, responding to an unrelated call, learned a room at the Laguna Cliffs Inn was rented by the suspect with a stolen card number.

Officers responded to a complaint about people using drugs in a room at the Inn Wednesday. Edward Richard York, 40, was arrested on several drug related charges.

Authorities then tracked Larson to Orange and arrested him without incident.

Larson allegedly rented a room at the Montage Resort on Dec. 21 and ran up a $2,134 bill, officials said.

He is being charged with burglary, grand theft, misrepresentation of a credit card holder, possession of a controlled substance, identity theft with a prior conviction and violation of probation.

Larson was arrested in April and plead guilty to 23 felony charges of fraud and theft after Laguna Beach detectives caught him using stolen credit card numbers to rent hotel rooms.

He was sentenced to three years' probation, one year in jail and restitution.

The suspect allegedly obtained the credit card information through open wireless Internet connections while people make online purchases.