North County men arrested for California theft spree

August 19, 2015

Two North County men allegedly teamed up to steal more than $35,000 worth of property, including a Mercedes Benz and a Norwegian passport, from victims in locations ranging from Los Angeles County to Paso Robles.

On Sunday, Paso Robles police responded to the 100 block of Niblick Road after a gas station clerk reported a suspicious person was possibly driving a stolen Mercedes Benz. Officers located a 2010 Mercedes and determined it was stolen from Palmdale, according to a Paso Robles Police Department news release.

The driver, whom police identified as Paso Robles resident Michael Frank Tidd, got out of the vehicle and began to walk away from the officers. Police quickly took Kidd, 55, into custody.

When officers searched the vehicle, they found stolen property belonging to at least five different victims from several jurisdictions. One of the stole items in the vehicle was a Norwegian passport.

The vehicle also contained nearly $2,000 worth of merchandise from the Paso Robles Kohl’s, according to police. The store reported the theft the previous day.

During the investigation, police viewed surveillance video of the stolen Mercedes and identified a second driver, Templeton resident Clyde Cody Roberts. Shortly after, officers located Roberts, 25, on the railroad tracks just south of 13th Street in Paso Robles.

Police arrested Roberts for being under the influence of a controlled substance. At the time, Roberts was in possession of stolen items  from Southern California, as well as credit cards and an international driver’s license that belonged to the owner of the Norwegian passport.

Investigators also determined that Roberts was directly involved in the Kohl’s theft.

Officers booked both Tidd and Roberts in San Luis Obispo County Jail on numerous felony theft charges, as well as charges of auto theft and possession of stolen property. Both suspects remain in custody as of Wednesday morning.

Tidd’s bail is set at $25,000, and Roberts’s bail is set at $37,000.

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