BY JOHN PATTERSON
SALISBURY POST

A man posing as a minor league baseball player has used stolen credit card numbers in the past few months to rack up more than $12,000 in expenses, including pricey bar tabs at Salisbury hotels and costly limo rides for his friends.

The man, whose real name investigators don’t know, is also wanted for questioning in Charlotte, where he allegedly used checks stolen from a Salisbury resident to fund an additional $10,000 worth of lavish living.

Salisbury Police Department detective Danny Dyles said the man used several names while running up bills at the Holiday Inn and the Ramada Limited, both on Jake Alexander Boulevard in Salisbury.

‘‘He’s used the names John Preston Russell, Preston Russell, John Chaffin, Preston Guariglia and Steve Naughton,’’ Dyles said. ‘‘The Naughton name, he’s told people, is that of a construction company. But we’ve run that card number and that company doesn’t even exist.’’

To diminish suspicion, the man has told hotel desk managers a number of different stories about his identity. But his favorite story, Dyles said, is that he’s a minor league baseball player for the Atlanta Braves in town to get rehabilitation for an injury.

‘‘That’s his best line,’’ Dyles said. ‘‘He tells them he’s in town trying to keep a low profile. He says things like ‘I’m here but I really don’t want anyone to know that I’m here.’|’’

Dyles said the man is using the stolen credit card numbers to buy drinks and gifts for his friends. He’s also used the numbers to rent cars – including limo rides – in Salisbury and Charlotte.

A.D. Phillips, an investigator with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police’s fraud division, said the man’s story is much the same in Charlotte.

‘‘He’s been buying limo rides, going to basketball games ... using stolen checks from a person in Salisbury to pay for it,’’ Phillips said. ‘‘He tells people that he’s in town and wants to keep a low profile, but he’s been taking people to ball games and for rides in limos.’’

Dyles’ investigation began when he got a call last week from a Salisbury hotel about a bogus charge.

‘‘The difficult thing is that he made these charges and then it doesn’t make its way to us for awhile,’’ Dyles said. ‘‘It goes from the card holder to the credit card company to the hotel and then to us. By then he’s got a two-month lead on us.’’

Dyles said he thinks other businesses were probably conned by the man, and that the amount of credit card debt could reach $16,000. Dyles said this type of thing happens quite often, ‘‘but I don’t think it generally runs up into these amounts.’’

Anyone with information about the man’s identity, or whereabouts, should contact Dyles at 638-5340, Phillips at 704-336-8291 or Crimestoppers at 638-5388.