ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- An Odessa man accused of trying to cash a forged check was arrested last week in connection with multiple thefts. Melvin Rusty Beavers, 46, has been charged with Theft of Property and Forgery of a Financial Instrument.
According to an affidavit, on January 17, officers with the Odessa Police Department responded to a check cashing business on Andrews Highway after an employee called 911 and reported a crime in progress. At the scene, officers detained a suspect, identified as Beavers, and then spoke with the employee who said Beavers had come into the business to cash a check in the amount of $1,765.
The woman said that her computer didn’t recognize the check which prompted her to call the company that issued the check. The owner of the business told the employee that his checkbook had been stolen and that he had not written a check to Beavers.
Investigators then spoke with the owner of the stolen check who said that UPS delivered a box of checks to his home on December 12, 2022, and that an unknown man had taken the package from his porch. The victim stated that he had received calls from multiple check cashing businesses asking about forged checks since his package had been stolen.
Beavers reportedly could not tell investigators where he’d gotten the check- first he said he’d worked for the money, and then he said a friend had given him the check and asked him to cash it on his behalf.
Beavers was arrested and taken to the Ector County Law Enforcement Center where he was also charged with another theft after law enforcement officials discovered an outstanding warrant. According to that warrant, in November of last year, the owner of El Rancho Boots reported that Beavers entered his store to try on a pair of boots that he then hid under his sweater when he exited the store. The owner said the boots were valued at $110.
According to jail records, Beavers, who has been convicted of theft on at least two other occasions, remained in custody as of Monday afternoon. His bond has been set at a combined $9,000.