Shasta County Man Arrested for Alleged Grand Theft, Misrepresenting Military Service
Photos courtesy of Redding PD
Originally published by the Redding Police Department:
Bernard Curtis
“On February 13th, 2024 at 12:38pm SHASCOM dispatch received a call reporting a male subject who had entered Fetch Body Piercing wearing a military uniform. The male suspect, Bernard Curtis (72 years of Oroville), reportedly left the location after stealing approximately $5,000 worth of jewelry.
Curtis was seen by witnesses getting into a silver Jaguar and attempted to flee the area. NPU Officers were in the area and quickly conducted a vehicle stop on the Jaguar before it left the parking lot. Curtis was detained and was found to be in possession of the stolen jewelry, a large amount of US currency and stolen merchandise from other local businesses.
Curtis was intentionally dressing in a uniform that was a combination of U.S. Navy and U.S. Army garments and rank insignias. Curtis was then entering local businesses with a picture of his disabled son and would request money from employees to support his son’s disability. Curtis was unfortunately successful at swindling employees for money despite the picture of his son being over two decades old. Fortunately, two of the NPU Officers at scene were veterans of the United States Army and Unites States Navy… so the fake uniform was obviously noticeable.
Although Curtis was actually a veteran of the U.S. Navy at some point, he lied about the length and details of his service to local employees in order to swindle them into giving him money. Curtis was ultimately placed under arrest for grand theft and misrepresenting military service and uniforms to intentionally impersonate and deceive, for the purposes of obtaining money.”
