Sheriff’s deputies are asking for the public’s help in locating a suspect who is believed to have made counterfeit money and hotel access cards. On Thursday, employees at the Best Western Hotel in Yucca Valley said Tony Valdez, 57, of El Monte, used fraudulent credit cards to obtain the room, and then disputed charges he made during his stay.
The hotel management banned Valdez from the hotel, but when he refused to leave, they locked him out of the room. It was then that they discovered inside the room several devices used to make counterfeit currency and access cards, and notified deputies just before 1 p.m. Valdez was gone by the time deputies arrived, but David Gurule, 37, of La Puente, who claimed to be Valdez’s son, was still there. Deputies found in Gurule’s possession numerous counterfeit bills, a credit card scanner, and cash cards. David Gurule was arrested for investigation of forgery, and possession of devices for manufacturing counterfeit currency and access cards, booked into the Morongo Basin Jail, with his bail set at $50,000. Deputies are still searching for Tony Valdez, and anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 760-366-4175.
