CLARKSTON, WA – A local nonprofit organization recently contacted the Asotin County Sheriff’s Office to report that someone had stolen some checks, and more than a thousand dollars was taken from their bank account. A deputy conducted an investigation, which according to a Probable Cause Affidavit, led to two local men – one of whom was reportedly identified by the tattoos on his fingers.
On Friday, 23-year-old Keanu Caren and 26-year-old Jadeh Lloyd-Cole were booked into the Asotin County Jail on charges of one count of 2nd-Degree Theft, three counts of 2nd-Degree Attempted Theft, and four counts of Forgery each.
According to the affidavit, a volunteer at the Clarkston Alano Club in the 1400 block of Elm Street made contact with law enforcement on November 27th after noticing $1,100 in checks were written on the organization’s account. Those checks are believed to have been stolen from their mailbox.
The investigating deputy was provided with copies of the checks and they noticed one of them was signed by Caren, the document states.
On December 3rd the deputy met with Caren and he reportedly claimed that his wallet had been stolen.
“I advised [him] of several stolen checks that had his signature endorsed on them. Caren advised a male subject identified as [name redacted/not involved], had likely been the culprit,” the affidavit says. “I showed Caren the copies of the fraudulent checks and pointed out his signature.”
Caren reportedly told the deputy that the signature was not his.
“I advised Caren that the signatures on the checks matched his signature which had been obtained in December 2022, while he was in custody of the Asotin County Jail and then showed him a copy of his booking/release paperwork with his signature,” according to the court document. “Caren advised the signature[s] could have easily been forged as he had signed his name on his license which had been stolen.”
The deputy asked Caren if he had been in two local banks and he allegedly denied being at either location.
“I advised Caren of the video recording at the banks and he then stated he had been there at the time of the check [withdrawals] with a male subject, Caren identified as Jaden,” the affidavit says.
On December 11th, the deputy received videos from one of the bank’s ATMs along with associated financial documents. The deputy states in the affidavit that those videos showed two men allegedly making transactions with the stolen checks.
“One of the male subjects seen processing the $1,000 transaction on 11/19/23 uses his right hand to use the ATM multiple times. On the…right hand a circular tattoo can be seen on the back of the hand, as well as what appears to be tattoo[s] on several of the right hand fingers, specifically a #1 on the pinky, a #9 on the ring finger, and a #8 on the middle finger,” according to the affidavit.
The document says the deputy cross-referenced those tattoos with a photo on Caren’s public Facebook page and they were a match. He then attempted to make contact with Caren but he was not home. A family member agreed to watch the bank videos and she reportedly confirmed that the male with the tattoos was Caren and the other subject was a man she knew as “Jada.”
Late Friday morning the deputy conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was being driven by Jadeh Lloyd-Cole. He was arrested and transported to the Asotin County Jail.
During an interview, Lloyd-Cole reportedly told the deputy that Caren had asked him to process the checks because he has a bank account and Caren doesn’t, the affidavit says. The officer also inquired about how he had come into possession of the checks.
“Jadeh advised he had found the checks in the back seat of a [vehicle] he had been responsible for. Jadeh advised further that he had removed the checks from [that] vehicle and placed them in his own personal vehicle and that must have been how Keanu got possession of them,” the affidavit says.
Following that interview, the officer drove to Caren’s home and was joined by two other deputies. Caren was allegedly inside “screaming,” according to the document.
“I made my way to the back door of the residence and could hear Caren yell something along the lines of I will kill everyone in here as well as make several suicidal statements,” the deputy says in the court document.
After the deputies entered the home, they gathered outside the closed bedroom door where Caren reportedly was with his girlfriend.
“The door was closed, but Caren could be heard yelling and screaming, as well as arguing through the door,” the affidavit says. “After speaking to Caren through the door and de-escalating the situation, Caren willingly exited the room and was handcuffed without incident.”
Following a medical evaluation at TriState Health (formerly Tri-State Memorial Hospital), Caren was transported to the Asotin County Jail and booked on the charges.
Keanu Caren, left; Jadeh Lloyd-Cole, right. Photos courtesy of Meta/Facebook.
