Police refile burglary charges in apparent identity theft case

A woman who gave Maricopa police a false name after she was seen allegedly taking items from a vehicle in July 2018 is now facing charges in that incident, plus additional charges.

Mykah J. Mahaney, 45, is charged with burglary in the third degree, two counts of theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of prescription drugs, according to police, who said she also faces charges for identity theft.

Police believe Mahaney is the woman they interviewed on the morning July 27, 2018 after she was seen removing a floral shirt and jeans from a Jeep Cherokee parked on West Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, according to the probable cause statement. When police made contact with Mahaney, she gave another woman’s name as her own.

On Dec. 7, 2020, the woman whose name Mahaney used contacted Maricopa police to report that Mahaney used her identity when she was arrested in the city for vehicle burglary, police said. The woman told police that Mahaney was incarcerated in Colorado for identity theft for using her name in that state.

Mahaney is currently in La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo, according to online information from the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Maricopa police obtained Colorado driver’s license photos for both Mahaney and the woman and compared them to photographs of the person arrested in July 2018. Mahaney’s photo appeared to match the woman arrested in Maricopa, police said.

Burglary charges have been refiled against Mahaney, and additional charges were filed related to identity theft, police said.