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Attempt to cash check leads to forgery charge

Altoona man tried to get $500 from account, police say

From Mirror staff reports

An Altoona man faces charges of forgery, theft and receiving stolen property.

Spencer Michael Jacobs, 23, of 2216 Ninth St., is accused of trying to cash a $500 check without permission from the victim at Hometown Bank in Bedford on Sept. 11, according to a police criminal complaint.

The victim has dementia, and the victim’s daughter reportedly told police she has the power of attorney over the involved account. The daughter allegedly got video footage of the transaction with Jacobs, and positively identified the defendant from that footage.

In a police interview, Jacobs reportedly said he mistakenly grabbed the check from a table in the victim’s residence and realized he had the check while in the parking lot of Home­town Bank.

The defendant also al­legedly admitted to filling out a check for $500, signing the victim’s name and at­tempting to cash the fraudulent check.

Jacobs said the bank teller would not cash the check for him and returned the check back to him, states the complaint. The defendant then reportedly threw the check into the garbage.

Jacobs waived his preliminary hearing Sept. 18. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 3 in front of Magisterial District Judge Cyril Bingham Jr.

His unsecured bail was set at $25,000.

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