Charges against a Delaware man who allegedly tried to cash a fake check purportedly from District Court in Orwigsburg as payment from a man named “Country” were held for Schuylkill County Court on Monday.
Rashawn Mallory, of Wilmington, Delaware, allegedly tried to cash a check for $1,480 at a bank in Delaware County last year but it was flagged. The check, police say, supposedly came from District Court in Orwigsburg.
But during a preliminary hearing on Monday morning, Orwigsburg patrolman Robert Bechtel testified that Mallory said he received that check from a man named “Country” for doing a clean-out job for him.
The problem was that the check said it came from District Court 21-3-03, which is the Magistrate office in Orwigsburg. And the check, the court says, isn’t real and definitely didn’t come from that office.
Bechtel said he was notified last year by the Schuylkill County Court Administrator that Mallory had tried to cash a check indicating it came from the Orwigsburg court.
To get to the bottom of this bizarre scenario, Bechtel testified that he tried to reach out to Mallory but was initially unsuccessful so a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Orwigsburg Police were able to catch up with Mallory because of a hit with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Bechtel testified that Mallory had applied for a job with TSA and was fingerprinted.
Mallory’s fingerprints turned up the warrant for his arrest in Orwigsburg. TSA gave Bechtel Mallory’s contact information and an arrest was completed, he said on the stand Monday.
Mallory reportedly told Bechtel that he got the check from a person named “Country” for whom he had once worked on a house clean-out job but could not provide police with any contact info for this “Country”.
During cross-examination, Mallory, who represented himself at Monday’s preliminary hearing in Pottsville, briefly stumbled through courtroom procedure. He quickly gave up and agreed to meet with the Schuylkill County Public Defenders Office.
Rather than questioning Bechtel’s side of the story, Mallory began testifying instead of asking questions of the Orwigsburg patrolman.
“How would I get that check,” he asked Bechtel before that line was objected to. “The teller gave me the check and asked me to provide a verification code.”
Magisterial District Court Judge James Reiley quickly cut off Mallory and said he can continue to testify at Monday’s hearing but he couldn’t do that while Bechtel was still supposed to be answering his questions.
Mallory, at that point realizing he was out of his element representing himself, said he’d contact the Schuylkill County Public Defenders Office for help as the case against him moves forward.
Reiley held all charges against Mallory over for Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.
Mallory is facing three felony charges for forgery and access device fraud as well as some misdemeanors.
According to a report from The Delaware County Daily Times, Mallory is one of several defendants who held a teen at gunpoint in 2011 in order to steal the kid’s meatball sub. Mallory was sentenced to 4-8 years for his role in that crime.
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