When officers arrived, they contacted the clerk. The clerk told officers that the male subject renting the room in question presented her with a debit card, which was declined. He then presented her with a second card, which was accepted. The subject also used a New York driver’s license for identification to rent the room. The clerk was suspicious of all the items, as they were flimsy.
Officers contacted three subjects inside the room in question. The officers could smell a strong odor of burnt marijuana inside the room. It was determined none of the occupants in the room had a medical recommendation to possess or use marijuana.
One of the subjects in the room was identified as Mark Hyder, 21 of Twain Harte. Hyder also claimed to have rented the room. When asked to see the card he used to rent the room with, Hyder claimed it was outside.
A records check showed Hyder was on probation out of Tuolumne County for resisting a public officer. Hyder was also wearing an ankle bracelet monitor. A search of Hyder’s wallet revealed a New York identification card, with someone else’s name and photo on it, along with three (3) counterfeit money cards. It was determined that the other two occupants in the room had no knowledge that Hyder had used a counterfeit card or false identification to rent the room.
Hyder was taken into custody without incident. He was transported to the Tuolumne County Jail and booked for felony false impersonation of another; felony using a forged access card; felony burglary; and felony violation of probation.