The son of Orange Cove's longtime mayor gave methamphetamine to someone in exchange for stolen credit card information that he then used to make online purchases, according to allegations in a search warrant affidavit that was released Friday.
Victor Lopez Jr., 43, was arrested Nov. 4 after a two-month identity-theft investigation by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Investigators searched his house in Orange Cove and arrested him after finding drugs in the home.
Court records also show that deputies confiscated several items from Lopez's house, including skateboarding and BMX bicycle equipment that belonged to the city. They also found a computer that belonged to the city and other electronics equipment that had been stored at the city's community center.
The affidavit said that an Orange Cove woman reported in late August that her credit card had been stolen. Sheriff's investigators determined that her son gave the card number to Lopez in exchange for methamphetamine.
Several online purchases were made with the card, including $1,220 for a Dell computer, $149 from Zales Jewelry, and $1,794 from an online clothing outfit, rollerzonly.com.
Victor Lopez Jr.
Investigators traced some of the purchases to an e-mail and phone account belonging to Lopez. The credit card company canceled two of the orders, but the rollerzonly.com order was delivered to the identity-theft victim's home.
The victim, who asked not to be named because she feared retribution, said in an interview Friday that the package was full of "gang-banger clothing." She said she sent the package back to the company.
Lopez is free on bail. The District Attorney's Office said Friday that it has not yet filed charges against him. Reached by phone on Friday, he declined to comment.
Mayor Victor Lopez said he believes the drug and identity-theft allegations against his son are false.
"Anybody can make accusations," he said. "People are accused every day."
The younger Lopez lives in a house with his wife and three children on Sumner Avenue on the western edge of Orange Cove, Mayor Lopez said. He said the house is owned by his friend, comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez.
Rodriguez could not be reached for comment. There is no indication he is a suspect in the case.
From 2005 to May this year, the younger Lopez worked as a contractor for the city and monitored Orange Cove's massive skate park and bike park.
City Manager Alan Bengyel on Friday said that he didn't think any of the items discovered in Lopez's house were stolen -- just borrowed.
He said that after the city released Lopez from his job earlier this year, he told Lopez that he could keep a city computer as long as he needed so he could stay in contact with BMX bikers and skateboarders and let them know that the city no longer was monitoring the parks.
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