Christine Blau 
A Scorching Springs handyman was arrested last Friday on 60 felony counts involving theft, fraud and forgery right after allegedly swindling a Warm Springs Village lady he experienced been functioning for given that final summer season.
Jerome Matthew McConnell, 45, who lists a Belvedere Drive address, is charged with three counts of monetary identity fraud and 29 counts of next-diploma forgery, just about every punishable by up to 10 years in jail, 26 counts of theft by acquiring, each and every punishable by up to 6 several years, and two misdemeanor counts of fraudulent use of a credit history card, punishable by up to just one year in jail.
McConnell remained in custody Wednesday on a $40,000 bond and is set to appear Might 22 in Garland County District Court docket. In accordance to court docket records, McConnell also has charges for violation of the Arkansas Incredibly hot Check Law pending in Garland County, and Saline County and experienced a parole maintain on him that was launched on Monday.
In accordance to the probable induce affidavit, on Feb. 21, Very hot Springs Village law enforcement Detective Mike Kliewer spoke to a female who life on Segovia Generate who experienced submitted a complaint with regards to her handyman, discovered as McConnell, who had been doing the job for her considering that August 2022.
She said McConnell had been encouraged by a mate so “she felt snug acquiring him in her dwelling and accomplishing get the job done.” She noted she would usually leave McConnell in her household on your own doing perform while she ran errands.
The girl reportedly learned her lender accounts experienced “many countless numbers of dollars” lacking. She informed Kliewer she experienced not been keeping track of her funds “the way she should have” and started out seeking into them to see why her accounts ended up missing money.
She noted she held a box of checks to her personalized account and her enterprise account in her property and she learned various books of checks have been lacking. She contacted her financial institution and obtained copies of statements and checks that had allegedly been cashed by McConnell.
The checks reportedly contained McConnell’s information these types of as his day of start, but the signature on the checks was not her signature and she explained to Kliewer she experienced not specified McConnell any checks or permission to use them.
She also reportedly identified McConnell had used for credit score cards in her name that were being sent to her tackle, but she never gained them. She stated McConnell had “seemingly intercepted” the mailed credit cards considering that he experienced access to her home and was at the residence frequently executing handyman get the job done.
McConnell allegedly activated a few credit history accounts, together with two in December 2022 and one particular in August 2022 and experienced also utilised two of the woman’s particular credit score playing cards to make seven unauthorized purchases, three in December and 4 in January, for a whole of $1,149.21, which provided airline tickets received in McConnell’s name.
The girl provided Kliewer with documentation of all the unauthorized buys and forged checks she could get, but he noted the extent of the buys and forgeries “span numerous jurisdictions inside of the state.”
The overall amount of money of financial reduction “within just the jurisdiction of Very hot Springs Village and Garland County” was calculated at $16,672.40. Kliewer was allegedly ready to get video surveillance of McConnell employing five of the checks at the Incredibly hot Springs Village Walmart and received copies of 24 of the cast checks from Locations Lender in Sizzling Springs Village in McConnell’s name.
“There is an apparent and notable distinction in the signature of (the sufferer),” he said, and a request to receive video clip surveillance from the financial institution has been submitted.
Warrants were issued for McConnell’s arrest on April 10 and he was taken into custody two days later.
