The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, with help from the Hermiston Police Department, arrested 32-year-old Jason Thomas Payton at the Economy Inn in Hermiston after receiving an anonymous tip that the suspect was located in the motel.
Payton was wanted for attempting to cash stolen checks and use stolen credit cards in Hermiston and Stanfield. He was charged with first-degree identity theft, first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and a felony charge of fraudulent use of a credit card. He was lodged in the Umatilla County Jail.
Law enforcement also arrested Christina Maria Berger, who was with Payton in the motel, on outstanding warrants.
During the arrest Sunday morning, sheriff’s deputies located items that were taken during a Jan. 30 burglary on N. Ott Road in Hermiston, including the burglary victim’s vehicle, which was located in a nearby parking lot.
Payton’s bail was set at $24,000.
