Staff report

A traffic stop on Interstate Highway 10 East at Smith Road led Jefferson County deputies to discover what appears to be a fake ID case that involved cloned credit cards.

In an issued statement, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said deputies at 1:25 p.m. Friday stopped a driver, 19, in a 2015 BMW who was speeding and making unsafe lane changes. When they approached the vehicle, they said, they smelled the odor of marijuana in the vehicle.

Deputies said the driver gave them a fake name and date of birth. When they searched the vehicle, they found credit/debit cards not in the driver’s name and a large number of expensive items purchased at high-end retail stores.

They also found a Florida driver’s license with the false name she had given them. She was taken into custody for the traffic offenses and for a warrant from San Antonio for Fail to ID.

It was later determined that the driver’s name is Latisha Lak of Houston. Lak was taken to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility and booked for Fail to ID-Fugitive, which is a Class A Misdemeanor, and fraudulent use or possession of identifying info, a felony 3.

The investigation was continuing Friday.

The Sheriff’s Office reminded people to monitor their bank accounts and to periodically check their credit history.