SANTA PAULA : 3 Held on Suspicion of Making Fake IDs

Three men were arrested Tuesday in Santa Paula on suspicion of making fake social security cards and immigration cards with equipment found in their car.

Police said the men were acting suspiciously around the car at the rear of a bar in the 100 block of Harvard Boulevard. An officer searched the car and found a typewriter with different type faces, a laminating machine, and sheets of “green cards” and social security cards.

Arrested for suspicion of possessing and manufacturing counterfeit identification were Juan Salamanca Casteneda, 20, of Santa Paula, Gustavo Salazar Fernandez, 20, of Fullerton, and Hector Sanchez Hernandez, 22, of North Hollywood.

Police Cmdr. Bob Gonzales said the men could have prepared about 100 fake identification cards with the equipment found. No completed cards were confiscated, but two photos were found, he said.

“We just stumbled across this,” Gonzales said. “We have no history on these guys.” Although the men appeared to be working out of the car, the alleged setup appeared to be “pretty sophisticated,” he said. The men were using a type of clear plastic with lines in it, similar to that used on legitimate cards, he said.

Gonzales said the department notified officials with Immigration and Naturalization Service of the arrests.