Oceanside

Authorities arrested an Oceanside couple Friday on suspicion of passing more than $500,000 in stolen or forged cashier’s checks in Southern California and Texas.

Edward Issett, 38, and Nancy Ann Pineda, 34, were arrested at their home on Wagon Wheel Road by a joint task force composed of Oceanside police and San Diego and Los Angeles county sheriff’s deputies, authorities said.

The pair were booked on suspicion of forgery, according to Deputy Drew Basey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Pineda also was booked on suspicion of violating her parole for a forgery conviction in Texas, he said. They were being held by Oceanside police.

Basey said the couple is suspected of using newspaper classified ads to find sellers of expensive items such as Rolex watches and rare books, then using forged or stolen checks to buy the merchandise. The items then were allegedly sold to pawn shops or to other buyers.

Using a search warrant, authorities discovered in the house about 500 blank cashier’s checks, rare books, two official seals from the State of Texas, numerous birth and death certificates, and credit applications under different names.