Forgery, theft bring 10-year prison term
Posted on Friday, February 29, 2008
BENTONVILLE — A Fairburn, Ga., man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for his role in using forged checks to purchase merchandise at Wal-Mart stores.
Keonna Yantize Williams, 23, pleaded guilty to theft of property and forgery, both class B felonies. He pleaded guilty under a plea agreement that attorney Tim Weaver reached with Deputy Prosecutor Kip Whittemore.
Williams, Shawn Rontrail Griffin, Anthony Tarrill Jones and Orlando Demetry Strozier were arrested Sept. 24, 2007, at the Pleasant Grove Wal-Mart Supercenter in Rogers in connection with a report that someone used a forged check for $ 1, 719. 88 to purchase a laptop and a Sony Playstation 3.
Two days earlier, Rogers police officer Brian Hanna responded to a call to the Wal-Mart concerning the report and learned that a Fayetteville Wal-Mart had reported a similar incident, according to court documents.
Hanna also learned two other men had passed a check for $ 2, 166. 92 to purchase a diamond ring, court documents state.
Hanna, along with Rogers police detective Larry Taylor, were dispatched Sept. 24 to the Pleasant Grove Wal-Mart after getting a report that a person was trying to return the diamond ring, according to court documents.
Police officers located the four men at the store and attained permission to search their vehicle. According to an affidavit of probable cause in the case, the police found four Playstation 3 ’s, valued at $ 500 each, and five laptops valued from $ 900 to $ 1, 300. Police also found a king-size comforter, two GPS units and $ 1, 144. 94 in clothing purchased with a check. Court documents reflect that police found counterfeit checks and a map of Arkansas with a list of all the Wal-Mart stores in the state.
Police also found several fake Georgia identification cards with the men, according to court documents.
Names of several of the Wal-Mart stores on the list were crossed out, and others had the word “ go ” beside them, court documents state.
According to court documents, Williams admitted to using a counterfeit check for $ 400 to purchase a gift card from Bed Bath and Beyond in Fayetteville. He admitted to police that he had mailed himself some computers and Playstations that were purchased with counterfeit checks, the affidavit states.
Strozier told police the men had come to Arkansas to make “ easy money” by using counterfeit checks to purchase items at Wal-Mart stores, then return the merchandise for the cash, according to the affidavit.
Taylor was told that area Wal-Marts had an estimated loss of $ 20, 000, the affidavit states.
Circuit Judge Tom Keith accepted the plea agreement and Williams’ guilty plea. Williams was sentenced to 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He must abide by a suspended-sentence agreement for 10 years.
He received credit for the 156 days he spent in the Benton County Jail awaiting trial.
He must also pay $ 1, 420 in court-associated costs.
The cases against the other three suspects have not been resolved.
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