ST. GEORGE — A Midland, Texas, man appeared for a sentencing hearing last Tuesday on three cases involving a string of forged checks that were cashed at three different bank branches in Washington County earlier this year.
The defendant, Zakary Michael Alcorn, 31, went before District Judge Eric A. Ludlow, facing three felony counts of forgery and a misdemeanor theft charge. Alcorn was placed on 36 months bench probation and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service in lieu of a fine.
Ludlow suspended the three prison sentences of 0-5 years and the misdemeanor sentence of 365 days in jail, and since Alcorn already had served 62 days in jail since his arrest on Feb. 25, the judge said Alcorn had served more than the 45 days recommended in the presentencing report. As such, Ludlow ordered Alcorn released from custody following the hearing.
The charges were filed following an investigation to follow up on a fraud reported in February after an individual called emergency dispatch reporting fraudulent activity on his account, including a check that reportedly was cashed at a credit union in Washington City.
The investigating officers spoke to the caller who reported three separate checks went through his account after they were cashed at two different credit union branches, one of them in Washington City. The first check for $2,360 was made out to Alcorn and was imprinted with the caller’s business logo and appeared to have his signature, along with a telephone number that officers later learned was a non-working number.
Surveillance footage showed a man, later identified as the defendant, entering the bank wearing a yellow hoodie, blue jeans and boots, with a blue mask that was partially covering his face. Investigators ran checked the state criminal database and discovered Alcorn had been arrested in January by officers in St. George in connection with a felony forgery case.
Nine days after his release, the report states, Alcorn again was arrested and returned to jail following the investigation into the Washington City case for which he appeared for sentencing. Two other cases were included in the global resolution — an additional felony count of forgery filed on a St. George case, as well as a felony theft charge that was reduced to a misdemeanor.
During the Tuesday hearing, Prosecutor Mark Barlow asked the judge to follow the sentencing recommendations as set forth in the presentence investigation report, an analysis prepared by a probation officer using a point system that assesses past criminal history and other factors. Judge Ludlow followed the guidelines as set forth in the report.
When the question of restitution arose, Taylor said the checks involved bank branches, so any losses incurred by the victims would be handled by an insurance company. The judge ruled that restitution would remain open for 90 days following the hearing.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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