Investigators break up check scheme

By By Staff Reports, Hartselle Enquirer
A sharp-eyed investigator and a conversation in a Wal-Mart checkout line led to the arrest of a Somerville woman.
Britney Carol Sloan, 23, of Somerville is charged with two counts of possession of a forged instrument in the second degree and resisting arrest, as well as probation violation charges. Another woman, Denise Ellsworth Young, 40, of Somerville is also being sought in connection with the case.
The Morgan County Sheriff's Department had received reports earlier this month from the Northeast Morgan County Water Authority about several checks improperly cashed in Hartselle and Decatur through their account.
Investigators said the computer-generated checks totaled $1,500 and had false business names and addresses but contained the account number of the water authority. Numerous reports from Somerville and Lacey's Spring soon surfaced about a large number of these checks being passed throughout the Tennessee Valley. Investigators eventually found more than $10,000 in checks with account numbers from local residents on fraudulent checks in Tennessee and Georgia.
Investigators also found fake Alabama drivers licenses and identification cards.
The big break in the case came when an investigator and his wife were shopping at the Hartselle Wal-Mart. The wife returned to find the price on an item and the investigator started a conversation with the woman behind him. He soon recognized the woman, Young, as a suspect in the case and realized she had in her possession a fraudulent check he had picked up that day in Eva. The investigator identified himself and asked her to show the check, prompting Young to yell, "no" and jerk away. She attempted to flee but was detained by a member of the military who was shopping in the store. She was detained by the investigator and his wife but later had to be tasered by Hartselle Police to bring her under control.
Investigators found more than a dozen checks in her possession, along with a forged Alabama Drivers License with the suspect's picture but a different name matching several of the checks in her possession.