Pair from Rhode Island Arrested in NH on ID Fraud Charges

MERRIMACK, NH — Another day, another strange, unordered package at a Merrimack address, and another round of arrests. Late last month, it was Charles Washington of Walden, NY; this week, it was two men from Rhode Island, according to police. Steven Ferreras Melo, 19, and Christopher Sanchez Sanchez, both of Ocean Street in Providence, RI, were arrested on conspiracy to commit identity fraud on Oct. 7, 2016.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Merrimack Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

At a little after 1 p.m., police were sent to Harrington Drive for a report of a suspicious vehicle in a driveway. When police arrived, the vehicle was gone. An officer spoke to the reporting party and learned that a suspicious package containing three iPhone 7 cellphones, valued at more than $2,000, had arrived at the home.

“It was learned that the resident did not order the phones and that they had been fraudulently ordered and delivered to the home,” according to Lt. Matthew Tarleton of the Merrimack Police Department. “The reporting party further advised that when the vehicle pulled into the driveway and saw them in a window, the vehicle quickly backed-out and drove away.”

Officers searched the area and found that the vehicle stopped not far from the home. The officers questioned both Melo and Sanchez, and police allegedly learned that they were paid to go to the address and pick up the phones, according to Tarleton. They were then both arrested.

Both Melo and Sanchez were held on bail and arraigned today.