CHICO — A Chico man was charged Wednesday for allegedly stealing the identity and money from his roommate who was estimated to have been deceased for four years, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s office.
David Pirtle, 57, was charged with identity theft and multiple counts of forgery Wednesday at the Butte County Superior Court for writing checks from the bank account of his roommate Kevin Olson, 64, of Chico.
According to the press release, Pirtle was living at Olson’s home when the Chico Police Department served a search warrant Sept. 21 and found Olson’s body.
An investigation that began August 2022 reported that several relatives of Olson had not seen or heard from Olson since around October 2018.
Chico detectives say they found records showing Olson’s mortgage continually being paid and approximately 50 checks written to Pirtle from Olson’s name and bank account.
A comparison of checks written to Pirtle and known signatures of Olson determined the checks were not written or signed by Olson, the press release said.
Based upon financial records and the condition of Olson’s body, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said it is believed that Olson died in late 2018. An autopsy to determine cause of death is pending.
Pirtle is held with bail set at $165,000 and is scheduled to appear 8:30 a.m. Sept. 29 at the Butte County Superior Court.
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