Sonoma County Couple Charged with Stealing Rohnert Park Teachers' Purses

ROHNERT PARK, CA -- A Santa Rosa couple was charged in Sonoma County Superior Court on Dec. 19 with 17 felony counts in connection with identity and credit card theft from teachers at several elementary schools in the county, including Rohnert Park.

Jeffrey Scott Haysbert, 49, and Susan Patricia Morris, 47, are charged with six burglaries, eight counts of getting credit with another person's identity and one count each of receiving stolen property, conspiracy
and multiple theft of identification information.

They also are charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. They're scheduled to enter pleas Jan. 17.

Santa Rosa police said the credit card thefts from wallets and purses happened at vacant classrooms during school hours at eight different elementary schools in Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Petaluma and unincorporated Sonoma County.

Police used surveillance camera video of the fraudulent purchases with the credit cards and the thefts from the schools to identify Morris and Haysbert as the suspects, Santa Rosa police Sgt. Marcus Sprague said.

When photos of the suspects were posted on social media sites, detectives immediately began receiving phone calls with possible suspect information, Sprague said.

Santa Rosa police detectives got a warrant to search Morris's and Haysbert's vehicles and their residence Thursday. Police found stolen credit cards and the purchases, including high-end electronics, that were made with them, Sprague said.

Detectives found additional credit cards and personal information belonging to other possible victims, and Morris and Haysbert were arrested and questioned at the Santa Rosa Police Department on Dec. 15, Sprague said.

Police said Morris and Haysbert had a dating relationship and have children in one of the schools they allegedly victimized.

Judge Arthur Wick set bail today for each defendant at $150,000. Wick denied a request to release Morris, citing a report stating she deserves "intense supervision."

Both defendants were referred to TASC, a national drug assessment and case management program for controlled substance treatment.

After the arraignment, Haysbert's attorney Barry McBride said credit card thefts from unattended wallets and purses are normally crimes of opportunity, but the controlled substance charges suggest the alleged crimes are drug related.

Bay City News contributed to this article/Image via Shutterstock