MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — A Lawrence County judge this week ordered an Arizona man to stand trial on a charge of trafficking in stolen identities.

Associate Judge Robert George decided at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing Monday in Lawrence County Circuit Court that there was probable cause for Abel Yarwaye, 33, of Phoenix, to stand trial on the charge. The judge set the defendant's initial appearance in a trial division for Tuesday of next week.

The charge stems from a traffic stop Aug. 29, 2017, in Mount Vernon. A state trooper stopped a vehicle that Yarwaye was driving after he pulled off Interstate 44 at a Mount Vernon exit.

A consent search of his vehicle allegedly resulted in seizure of an electronic card eraser and writer under the carpeting in the trunk, a laptop computer and six credit and debit cards in the defendant's wallet with embossed numbers that differed from the numbers embedded on the card's magnetic strips, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Further investigation purportedly led to the discovery that a bank account number on one of the cards had been reported stolen the previous day. An examination of the laptop pursuant to a search warrant turned up documents appearing to contain credit card tracking information as well as personal identification information belonging to other people, according to the affidavit.

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