BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man was arrested this week for allegedly writing and using checks that did not belong to him.
Andrew Harris, 25, of Buckhannon, was arrested Thursday for three counts of forgery and uttering, a felony.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Lt. Doug Loudin with the Buckhannon Police Department, on Feb. 6, 2022, Harris allegedly “knowingly and unlawfully” forged and uttered a check in the amount of $500 that belonged to this grandmother without her permission. Then, approximately three months later, on May 25, 2022, Harris allegedly forged and uttered a second check in the amount of $300 that belonged to the same relative, also without her consent.
The police report says that a third instance occurred on June 9, 2022, when Harris also allegedly forged and uttered a check in the amount of $250 that also belonged to his grandmother without her permission.
The file says each case of uttering — or attempting to pass into circulation a fraudulent check or official document as genuine — took place at Chase Bank on Main Street in Buckhannon.
Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder set bail at $45,000 cash or surety.
The potential penalty for a conviction of each count of forgery and uttering is imprisonment in the state penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than 10 years, or in the discretion of the court, confinement in jail for not more than one year and a fine of up to $500.
