11 SUSPECTS IN CREDIT CARD FRAUD FREED.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

Eleven suspects jailed in a $5 million bank and credit card fraud ring were released Monday after prosecutors refused to file charges, saying they had not been given enough time to prepare the case.

Arrested last week in raids from Lancaster to Compton, the 11 men and women were accused of bilking stores and banks in Santa Clarita and elsewhere using fraudulently manufactured cards to obtain cash and merchandise, officials said.

Under state law, many of the suspects had to be charged or released Monday because they already had been in custody 48 hours, excluding the weekend. They had been held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Three suspects wanted on other warrants in unrelated cases still were being held, officials said.

Detectives from the Santa Clarita Valley detective's bureau, who conducted the investigation and sought charges, met Monday with prosecutors from the major fraud unit of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

However, Deputy District Attorney Brent Collier said the case was far too complicated to be handled in one or two days.

"Normally what happens is that investigators meet with us weeks before they ever plan to arrest anybody and bring us into the case," he said. "One of our deputy (district attorneys) received a call one month ago but then never heard from them again."

Lt. Tim Peters, head of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station detectives bureau, said while that may be the unit's policy, local detectives were unaware of it.

"They want the case 100 percent put together when they file. That's the policy they told us this morning," Peters said. "It is not written down."

Collier said the policy is maintained to ensure that the stiffest possible charges can be brought in complicated fraud cases.

Large fraud cases cannot be filed in "piecemeal" fashion - with initial charges and additional charges brought later. That could allow defendants to seek speedy hearings, permanently jeopardizing the later charges, which often carry the longest prison terms, he said.

Both sides noted, however, that the case is still open. A deputy district attorney has been assigned to the case and will work with local detectives in an effort to file charges later through arrest warrants.

Peters added, though, that he is fearful that now that the suspects have been released many will flee the area. The suspects are residents of Lancaster, Palmdale, Los Angeles, Fresno and Gardena.

Investigators have declined to talk in detail about the case, but say that among the institutions targeted were Sears and Mervyn's. Losses have been pegged at $5 million over three years.

Sterling Richard, 27, and Undria Richard, 28, both of Lancaster, and Steven Harris, 40, of Los Angeles were the suspects still in custody on other warrants.