Woman accidentally writes $21,000 check, man thanks the lord and meets the law after depositing money

AndreyPopov/ iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News

HURRICANE — Hurricane Police arrested a 67-year-old handyman Friday morning after he allegedly deposited a check accidentally written for $21,000 into his account.

According to a police statement written by Hurricane Police Officer Darren Richmond, the case began as an investigation involving theft.

After hiring a handyman service to complete a concrete job in her yard, the woman told police that the man, Berklee Holm of Parowan, bid a price of $4,200 to complete the job and that he said he would need $2,100 at the time to purchase materials, according to the statement.

The woman told police she mistakenly wrote a check for $21,000 and delivered it to Holm in error on March 13.

On the same day, police say Holm deposited the check into his account.

Berklee Holm, 67, of Parowan, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, April 3, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

According to the statement, the woman attempted to call Holm numerous times, but he would not return her calls. Holm did not return to the jobsite on the agreed-upon day and has not completed the work for which he was contracted.

Richmond spoke with Holm in person on Wednesday, and Holm allegedly said he realized the check was far more than agreed when he went to cash the check.

“He advised that once he saw the amount he ‘basically thanked the lord and put it in my (his) account,'” Richmond wrote in the statement. Holm reportedly confirmed that he did not make any attempts to return the money.

Holm was placed under arrest on Friday and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility for theft of mistakenly delivered property and a cash-only warrant. His bail was $10,000.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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