| May 12,
2006 |
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| One of Burke's "Ten Most Wanted" Sentenced |
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A man appearing on Burke
County's "Ten Most Wanted" list for almost three years was returned to the area
by federal authorities last week, where he was convicted in a Burke County
courtroom on five counts of forgery.
Det. Robert Beall of the Burke
County Sheriff's Office said Gary Lee Harden (right), 42, entered a no
contest plea on charges that he passed bogus payroll checks to five area stores
in the summer of 2003. |
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| Beall stated he received a June 23rd, 2003
report from Walnut Hollow Grocery Store on Highway 64, in which the clerk
cashed the payroll check of man posing as a construction worker. The $348.61
check was later discovered to be counterfeit. |
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| The suspect, later identified as Harden, also
passed bogus checks in the same amount to four other local stores, Beall said.
The other four stores were Holland's Grocery Store, Country Crossroads Store,
Antioch Grocery, and Perkins Grocery Store. |
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| The detective said Harden's check cashing spree
is believed to have started here in Burke County, but soon progressed to other
states. |
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| Beall said Harden was arrest by federal
authorities in northern Oklahoma on April 29th, 2005, and subsequently pled no
contest to seventy-six counts of possessing and uttering counterfeit
securities. Harden reportedly passed the bad securities in North Carolina,
South Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. He received
a two-year prison sentence in a federal penitentiary. |
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| Harden remained on Burke County's most wanted
list until his return to the county last week. |
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| On May 3rd, a Burke County judge convicted
Harden of the five class I felonies and required him to pay restitution to the
five Burke County stores. Beall said the restitution will be handled through
the federal courts, where Harden has already been ordered to make restitution
of nearly $30,000 in the seven-state crime spree. |
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| Harden has been returned to federal custody and
is serving his sentence in Texarkana, Texas, according to Beall. |
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