LAKE CHARLES, La (KLFY) — The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested a Lake Charles man for illegal possession of a stolen excavator, identity theft, and fraud, according to a press release from the office.

Robert L. Montgomery, 50, of Lake Charles, was arrested by CPSO on April 7 for illegal possession of stolen things from $25,000 or more, identity theft over $1,000, and government benefits fraud. He was released later the same day on a bond of $8,500 set by Judge Tony Fazzio.

In January, the CPSO Vehicle Crimes Investigative Unit received a complaint about an excavator stolen off of private property in the Louisiana Avenue area of Lake Charles.

During the investigation, VCIU detectives found Montgomery in possession of the excavator and he planned on selling it at the time.

Montgomery told detectives that an individual who was staying next door to where the excavator was located said that the owner was getting rid of it and that Montgomery could take it. He then paid to have it moved to his property.

In March, while CPSO was still investigating the excavator theft, detectives with the Financial Crimes Unit received a report of identity theft. Further investigation into this report revealed that Montgomery had used someone else’s personal information to file a fraudulent unemployment claim with the State of Louisiana. He received over $8,000 in unemployment benefits since April 2020.

CPSO VCIU Detective Tyler McKnight and Financial Crimes Detective Joshua Bruns are the lead investigators on these cases