| September 18, 2007 |
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| Man Arrested for Obtaining
Property by False Pretense |
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Eugene MacAuthor
Mullins, Jr., 30, left, was arrested on September 18, 2007 and
charged with three counts of obtaining property by false pretense and one count
of obstruct and delay/false information to officer.
Mullins is also
wanted out of Russell County, Virginia for drug related charges. |
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| On September 17, 2007,
at approximately 3:30 pm, a Family Food Mart representative reported to the
Burke County Sheriff's Office that the store located on Old NC 10 and Johnson
Bridge Road had received three fraudulent checks in as many days. |
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| The report stated that
the checks all appeared to have been written on the same false account using
the same false or old business name. The case was turned over to the Criminal
Investigations Division of the Sheriff's Office. |
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| Also on the 17th, around
7:00 pm, Family Food Mart reported another incident. It was reported another
attempt was made to pass the same type of fraudulent check. The suspect in this
incident was not the same man who had passed the three previous, according to
the reporting clerk. |
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| During this incident,
the suspect was confronted by management of the store. When confronted, the
suspect began to struggle with the manager. The manager refused to return the
check presented or the ID card of the individual attempting to pass the
fraudulent check. |
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| After a brief struggle,
the suspect fled the area on foot and was soon apprehended by deputies. The
suspect was identified as Harold Edward Berry, Jr. of Hickory. He was charged
with assault on a female (the manager of the store) and was placed in the Burke
Catawba Detention Facility. |
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| On September 18, 2007,
at approximately 8:00 am, detectives were able to make contact with Eugene
Matthew Mullins. During interviews with Mullins, detectives began to question
the true identity of Mr. Mullins. Detectives learned that Mr. Mullins did in
fact pass the first three fraudulent checks, but his true identity was still
uncertain. Several hours were spent attempting to correctly identify Mr.
Mullins. |
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| Detectives were able
positively identify Mr. Mullins as Eugene MacAuthor Mullins, Jr., a 30 year old
white male wanted in the State of Virginia. Mr. Mullins was arrested in
connection with the fraudulent checks and also was charged with providing false
information to law enforcement. |
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| Mr. Mullins' first court
appearance is September 19, 2007 and he is being held under a a $30,500.00
secured bond. He also has a hold from Virginia. |
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| Additional charges were
filed against Mr. Harold Edward Berry, Jr., in connection with the fraudulent
check case at Family Food Mart. He will also be charged with four counts of
obtaining property by false pretense. He is currently being held in the Burke
Catawba Detention Facility. |
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| Investigators believe
both men were writing these checks together. Both men live next door to each
other on Old Shelby Road, just outside of Burke County and both men have been
known to work construction together. Investigators are still looking into the
possibility of other locations affected by these fraudulent checks and the
possibility of additional charges. |
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