A homeless man accused of stealing the wallet and wedding ring from MAX stabbing victim Ricky Best was arraigned Thursday on a new set of charges.

A Multnomah County Circuit Court grand jury indicted George Elwood Tschaggeny on accusations of felony identity theft for allegedly using Best’s credit card five times on the day of Best's death, May 26.

The new charges come nearly four weeks later. But that’s not uncommon in identity theft cases, when it can take weeks for unauthorized charges to show up on a credit card bill.

Police say Tschaggeny, 51, was caught on TriMet surveillance video leaving the crime scene with two bags moments after Jeremy Christian, 35, is accused of stabbing Best and two other men in the neck during a Islamophobic rant on a train at the Hollywood Transit Center that day. Best, 53, died on the train and Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, died a short time later at a hospital. Another man, Micah Fletcher, survived.

Six days after the attack, police put out a public plea for help in locating the thief who stole Best's wedding ring, backpack and wallet, which contained credit cards and phone numbers that were precious to Best's family. Hours later, they arrested Tschaggeny at a small homeless camp near Interstate 84, thanks to a tip from a Domino's Pizza employee who recognized the thief's physical description.

Three days after his arrest, Tschaggeny was charged with abuse of a corpse, second-degree theft, identity theft and tampering with physical evidence. That identity theft charge relates to his possession of the credit cards -- not his use of them.

In the weeks since Tschaggeny's arrest, those who know him say he once was married, employed and honored by Portland police for stopping a bank robber. In recent years, he spiraled into drug addiction and poverty.

Tschaggeny’s next court date is scheduled for July 24.

-- Aimee Green