Alleged Costco Thief Behind Bars

A Bermuda Dunes woman was behind bars today on suspicion of check fraud at three Costco stores, including one in Palm Desert.

Lara Navarro Yuridia, 31, was arrested Wednesday in Culver City after attempting to write a fraudulent check at a Costco store there.

On Monday, Riverside County sheriff's deputies had responded to a check fraud report at Costco at 79795 Highway 111 in La Quinta, sheriff's Lt. Jason Huskey said.

"The store reported that a customer had purchased several thousand dollars of merchandise the previous day with a check from a bank account with non-sufficient funds,'' he said.

The same suspect had done something similar at in Palm Desert, he said.

La Quinta investigators determined that the stolen merchandise was at the Culver City residence, where they found two 60-inch flat screen TVs and computers, Huskey said.

Yuridia was booked into the county jail in Indio on suspicion of commercial burglary and felony check fraud, Huskey said.

City News Service contributed to this report.