Tyler

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

Hundreds of credit card numbers, guns, bogus checks, equipment to make credit cards and checks were a few of the items recovered during what began as a simple check on a vehicle at a Smith County park.

Authorities say 27-year-old Lucas George Cates is a career criminal who had more than 400 credit card numbers in his possession when arrested Tuesday.

They added he was also in a vehicle equipped with police lights and he had handcuffs, clothing with the identifying marks of a law enforcement agency, and he had other police items such as a radio that was hard-wired into the dashboard of his four-door black Mitsubishi.

Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith said deputies Justin Hall and John Shoemaker were patrolling when they saw Cates’ car in Lindsey Park with the backup lights on.

“They went to do a welfare check on the driver and make contact with him when he woke, fought with them and tried to drive off. He ran into a curb and stalled the vehicle, which allowed the deputies to take him into custody,” he said.

Smith said Cates fought the two deputies again and kept trying to reach to an area where a sawed-off-shotgun was later located.

After securing Cates, the deputies began to see the items in the car and requested additional help.

What they found, says Smith, was the office of a man who was using computer equipment and other electronics to print bogus checks, make credit cards and the software to help him.

Deputies also found five Social Security numbers, three Texas driver licenses, a birth certificate, 431 credit card numbers, information on 156 different people’s identification and 39 used gift cards.

Smith and detectives working the case said they have notified law enforcement agencies west of Fort Worth and all of East Texas to be looking at cases in which Cates may have been involved, including him possibly posing as a peace officer and pulling over motorists.

Detectives in the case said Cates, who has been living in his car, is a suspect in a rash of auto, home and business burglaries in Smith County.

“He’s got the burglary tools needed, and with what we have here, we know there are more charges coming,” Smith said.

The sheriff said it was not clear at the time if Cates ever posed as an officer, but he did say that deputies were running down all avenues with the suspect.

When asked if Cates could be the person reported to have pulled over several people earlier this year, one detective replied, “We’re definitely looking into that possibility.”

At the Smith County Low Risk Jail Facility, two deputies pulled out the black Mitsubishi and showed the flashing red and blue lights in the car’s grill.

The inside of the car was full of trash and had a dashboard that had been ripped out with wires hanging everywhere.

Mounds of paperwork found in Cates' car indicate the man had taken a trip to Las Colinas and obtained more than 100 people’s identity information, but it remains unclear if he had time to use the information before being arrested.

They added the people’s information was taken from a motel in Los Colinas.

“This guy was enterprising, and there’s no telling how many victims he may have out there or if this will also be a case the federal guys get involved with or not. We will let our district attorney help guide us in that area of the investigation,” Smith said.

The sheriff added Cates had been in his jail 16 different times, and records indicate he has also been jailed in Henderson, Upshur and Wood counties at various times.

Cates remains in the Smith County Jail on $214,000 bonds set on the new charges and on a hold from Wood County.

His current charges include; evading arrest with a vehicle, resisting arrest, fail to identify as a fugitive, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled sub-stance, prohibited weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

Smith said he is also facing the identity theft and credit card abuse charges, but detectives are gathering evidence to determine how many counts there will be.

“This was all the result of two deputies just doing good old- fashioned police work,” he said.

Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith gives details of the arrest of Lucas George Cates, 27, of Lindale Tuesday for numerous charges including possession of a controlled substance, carrying a prohibited weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, evading arrest and revocation of probation from Wood County. More charges are pending.
(Staff photo by Jaime R. Carrero)