32-year-old Ryan Wayne Perkins, who has eight previous convictions for stealing cars, received a six year prison sentence for stealing a rental van while using a forged driver’s license.
On August 1, 2019, a jury unanimously convicted Perkins of one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of aggravated theft in the first degree, one count of felony computer crime, one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle.
This investigation started on September 28, 2018 when a representative from a moving and storage rental company reported that someone used the company’s mobile phone app on September 16, 2018 to rent a vehicle and failed to return it. The mobile phone app does not require a person to speak with a company associate.
The individual who rented the vehicle, later determined to be Perkins, used a driver’s license that contained someone else’s personal identifying information but displayed Perkins’ picture. As part of the automated rental process, individuals are required to take a selfie of themselves and also upload a photo from an identification card for verification. That information is uploaded to the company’s database and it is timestamped and includes GPS location information.
When the van, which was valued at $33,000, was not returned, the rental company sent a demand letter to the person listed on the rental agreement. This information came from the forged driver’s license Perkins used.
The victim of the identity theft immediately reported the letter to the Portland Police Bureau.
During the investigation, law enforcement determined Perkins rented the vehicle from an automated station located near the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, Oregon.
Using the selfie Perkins uploaded at the time of the initial rental, law enforcement was able to identify him based on the tattoo Perkins has on his chin. The tattoo reads “BROOD,” a known criminal gang.
This case was prosecuted by Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Demer.
Sentencing occurred on September 30, 2019.