BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A report of a stolen checkbook in Bernie resulted in the arrest of a local man for theft, forgery and tampering.
Travis Dean Burnett, 28, was arrested and charged with the Class C felony of tampering with a motor vehicle, the Class C felony of forgery and the Class A misdemeanor of theft (under $500.)
According to a probable cause statement filed by Bernie Police Chief Justin Allen, at 9:30 a.m. on the morning of May 28, a local individual on the 200 block of E. Fordyce St. in Bernie reported that her checkbook had been stolen from her vehicle.
The victim stated that another individual who lived at the home reported to police on May 24, 2013, that several items had been stolen from his truck. The items included a Hitachi drill, an impact drill, a charger, a flashlight, two batteries, a case and a Kobalt drill bit kit.
The victim of the checkbook theft visited her local bank who then gave her a list of where several unauthorized purchases were made.
On the list were Bernie Town and Country Supermarket, Casey's General Store at Dexter, Breaktime at Dexter and Amerimart at Dexter,
Allen made contact with each of the three Dexter businesses--all of whom were in possession of video surveillance of the transactions in question.
In the videos, Allen reports Burnett could be seen making purchases alongside his girlfriend, Shonda Lowery. He stated the pair made multiple purchases at different time on the same day.
Allen took a photo lineup of six white males to Bernie Town and Country where he asked the checker to identify the customer. The clerk circled Burnett's photo.
Burnett was arrested on Thursday, May 29. Burnett is reported to have admitted to stealing the checkbook from a vehicle. He told authorities that he bought two packs of cigarettes and wrote the check for $20 more.
He then stated the couple drove to Dexter where both wrote checks for various items.
He also confessed to having taken the items from the pickup truck including the drill and various items. He made a phone call and requested that the items be brought to the Bernie Police Department.
Burnett told Allen that his reason behind the theft was because he and Lowery are addicted to methamphetamine and pain pills, and "need help."
Burnett is currently on parole for first-degree burglary.
He is scheduled for arraignment on Thursday, June 5, before Judge Joe Z. Satterfield.