Visalia officer faces forgery charges - Visalia Times-Delta
A longtime Visalia motorcycle cop is facing charges that he forged Department of Motor Vehicle forms, acted as an unlicensed car dealer and defrauded the government of sales taxes and registration fees. The charges followed a lengthy investigation by the DMV’s investigations unit based in Fresno. The original complaint was called into the Bakersfield DMV office, which sent Heaton a warning letter in April 2014. A copy of DMV records were requested, but denied by court officials. “During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Heaton acted as an unlicensed car dealer and sold multiple vehicles in the past two years,” according to the DMV complaint filed in court. The DMV accused Heaton of posting cars on Craigslist and eBay after purchasing them locally at auctions or in private sales. After the purchase, he would state that he paid a minimal amount for the vehicle, to avoid taxes and registration fees, according to DMV reports. He then sold the cars for substantial profit, including a 2005 Jeep Rubicon owned by another police officer in Heaton’s motorcycle unit. Heaton was initially placed on paid-administrative leave and returned to work when no charges were filed last year. Source: www.visaliatimesdelta.com
