Tallahassee Man Charged With Passing Forged Check

SEBRING - A Tallahassee man remained in Highlands County Jail in lieu of $1,000 bail Tuesday after Sebring police say he walked into the Sweetbay supermarket and tried to cash a forged check from Lapin Sheet Metal.

Peter Bacon, 48, of 3190 Springhill Road, Tallahassee, was booked Saturday on a charge of fraud - issuing a false instrument.

The arrest report stated that Bacon walked to the store's "service center," met with a store representative and handed him a check for $299.41 from the Lapin Sheet Metal company to cash.
The check was made out to the name of Arthur Johnson, the report stated.

The representative recalled a memo that went out warning of forged checks from Lapin with an amount of about $300.

Sebring Police Lt. Bruce Crum agreed Tuesday that the less than $300 amount on the check could be an effort to avoid a felony charge, but in this case it didn't work.

"Anything under $300 is a misdemeanor theft unless it's a burglary, in which the threshold is $100," Crum said. "In this case it was a felony because they're uttering a forged instrument, which is classified a felony."

He contacted his store manager who agreed it was time to call the police.

Bacon reportedly became suspicious because of the delay and walked out of the store. The store representative and store manager kept an eye on the man as he walked through the parking lot.

Sebring Police Officer Rich Little arrived and found Bacon in front of the Burger King restaurant, the report stated. Bacon handed Little an inmate release identification card, the report stated.

Little reported finding a Florida identification card on the ground a few feet away from Bacon, near U.S. 27, with the name Arthur Johnson, age 55.

The store representative identified Bacon as the man who tried to cash the check, the report stated.