Orange City, Iowa — A Rock Valley man will serve time behind bars after he was sentenced on Monday, January 26, 2015 on theft, forgery, and credit card fraud charges.
Sioux County Attorney, Thomas G. Kunstle, says that 28-year-old Austin Richard Mulder of Rock Valley, was sentenced for the crimes of Theft in the Second Degree and Forgery, both Class D Felonies; and three counts of Credit Card Fraud, an Aggravated Misdemeanor.
On October 2, 2014, according to court records, Rock Valley police pulled Mr. Mulder over in their city. They say he was visibly shaking, upset, and seemed emotional considering the circumstances.
Police learned Mulder’s driver’s license had been suspended so he was placed under arrest. When police began inventorying his pickup truck they found marijuana. Police also found a Dell laptop computer with a service tag. This same computer was reported stolen on August 16, 2014. The owner of the computer identified another computer and other items as stolen when shown the contents of Mulder’s pickup.
Rock Valley police charged Mr. Mulder with Theft by exercising control over stolen property. After the charge, Mulder made admissions during a telephone call while inside the Sioux County Jail.
Police further searched other electronic devices found inside the vehicle that implicated him in a Walmart theft.
Through their investigation, police learned Mulder fraudulently applied for a credit card in another’s name in September 2014. After receiving this fraudulently-received credit card, they say Mulder made purchases or received services, at People’s Bank and Premier Bank in Rock Valley, and at Walmart in Sioux Center.
Mulder was sentenced to five years in prison on the theft and forgery charges and to two years in prison on the credit card fraud charges, with the sentences to run consecutively, for a total indeterminate prison term not to exceed seven years.
