Montgomery County deputies arrested a man who allegedly used fake IDs to buy tires on credit at a Woodlands Discount Tire store.
Brent Bascombe, 37, fled on foot when deputies tried to speak with him at the store on Monday, Oct. 19, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said in a statement published by Woodlands Online. After a short foot pursuit, deputies detained him near the business at 24915 Interstate 45.
A store employee had called in a suspicious-person report, telling deputies that a man appeared to be using a fraudulent Texas driver's license to obtain credit for a tire purchase. When deputies arrived and approached Bascombe, he ran.
Once detained, Bascombe refused to provide accurate identification, the sheriff's office said. Deputies eventually confirmed his identity.
Investigators found Bascombe carrying multiple fake paper identification cards. At least one of those IDs had already been used at a separate Discount Tire location in Harris County, where Bascombe allegedly obtained tires through fraud, according to the sheriff's office statement. The tires from that earlier purchase were recovered from a U-Haul that Bascombe was operating and returned to Discount Tire.
The cross-county pattern matters for Woodlands-area shoppers. The Harris County fraud and the attempted purchase on Interstate 45 suggest Bascombe was moving between stores with fake credentials, the sheriff's office account shows.
Deputies also discovered Bascombe had an active warrant out of Florida for criminal mischief.
He faces four charges: tampering with a government record, which covers the fake IDs themselves; evading arrest or detention, tied to the foot chase; fraudulent use or possession of identifying information, connected to the credit scheme; and failure to identify, for refusing to give deputies his real name. He was booked into Montgomery County Jail.
Residents who witness suspicious activity at local businesses can contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at (936) 760-5876.
