A 32-year-old Linton man was arrested July 18 on a warrant for three counts of forgery and three counts of theft after allegedly stealing checks from a family member, writing them to himself, and cashing them.

Linton Police Department Officer Nathan Kilgore arrested Aaron Shane Richards on July 18 after a warrant was from Greene Superior Court the same day.

On July 1, a report was made regarding Richards. The reporting party, according to the probable cause affidavit, said Richards had taken two checks from his checkbook and cashed them. He said he requested to stop payment on both of the checks; however, according to bank statements later shared with Kilgore, both checks were cashed.

When Officer Kilgore spoke with the reporting party, he provided stop notification papers from his bank. According to the probable cause affidavit, two checks were written for $105 each—one in May and one in June. The reporting party’s name was signed on the back but he alleged he did not write the checks, nor did he sign them.

On July 15, Kilgore spoke to the same man about missing checks. He reported that two additional checks—written for $125 each—had been cashed in July. The combined amount of checks cashed, plus the stop check fees, totaled $534.

Before the man left the police department, Kilgore took a sample of his signature to compare it to the signatures on the checks. The man had provided a copy of his bank statements, which included copies of the checks. According to the probable cause affidavit, Kilgore wrote the man’s signature does not appear to be similar to the ones on the checks.

Officer Kilgore and Chief Paul Clark spoke with Richards on July 15 at the police department. According to the probable cause affidavit, Richards indicated he stole four checks from the male individual, wrote them to himself and later cashed them. He alleged he cashed one at Walmart and used PayPal on his phone to deposit the other three checks. Richards alleged he did not have permission from the individual to take the checks.

He is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court July 23 for an initial hearing.

Richards faces three charges of forgery, a Level 6 Felony and three charges of theft, a Class A Misdemeanor.