A Maryland man faces felony charges after being arrested for trying to cash an altered check at a bank in Old Town.
The suspect from Oxon Hill was arrested inside the bank at the 100 block of S. Fairfax Street on Dec. 15 after trying to cash a check for $1,950, while the account holder told the branch manager that the check was, in fact, made out to the man who delivers her newspapers for $20.
The victim said she left the check in her mailbox for the United States Postal Service to pick up, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
At the bank, the suspect told police he was in a car accident on Dec. 13, that the other driver was not insured and consequently paid him $200 in cash and gave him a check for $1,950. The suspect also told police that he didn’t know the name of the person who gave him the check, according to the affidavit.
“The check shows signs of ‘washing,’ which your affiant knows to be a method by which fraudsters will clean ink from checks,” police said in the affidavit. “For example, the check shows markings from having been exposed to moisture on the left side of the document.”
The victim told police that she wrote the check on Dec. 13, put it in her mailbox on Dec. 15, and went to the grocery store afterward. Upon her return, she said mail was taken from her mailbox, including the check in question.
The suspect was arrested on Dec. 15 and was on recognizance. He was charged with forgery and attempting to obtain money under false pretenses, both Class 5 felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $2,500 fine.
The suspect goes to court Friday, Feb. 6.
