A family dispute led to a man facing Orange Local Court for stealing five cheques from his father and forging his name to obtain $1850 in money and goods.
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He will have to pay $1600 in restitution to the Commonwealth Bank and $250 to his father for the cashed cheques.
Mark Neville Downey, 42, of Peisley Street, was also given a 12-month supervised community corrections order for stealing two rubber floor mats from the Cumnock Bowling Club on January 17.
He was also ordered to pay the club $100 compensation for the mats, which he said he took to put in the back of his ute so his dogs’ feet wouldn’t get too hot.
According to police, Downey had been living with his father and stepmother in Cumnock when he ripped out four blank Commonwealth Bank cheques and a National Australia Bank cheque.
“He believed he was entitled to some money but he went about it in an illegal way due to a dispute with his family.”
- Solicitor Peter Ringbauer
At the Commonwealth Bank in Orange he cashed one for $200 on November 20, 2017, another was cashed for for $200 on December 20, and $800 was cashed out on January 16.
He cashed another cheque for $250 at the Cumnock General Store on December 23, 2017, and $400 at the Molong Commonwealth Bank on February 19.
He had written his driver’s licence number on the back of one of the cheques.
In an electronically recorded interview with police on April 28, 2018, he admitted forging his father’s signatures.
When asked why he did it he said, “to get back at my father, he owes me money and I was never going to get it from him”.
Solicitor Peter Ringbauer said in his defence that his client had mental health issues which he are being treated and medicated and due to his compliance and management of those issues he is about to start full-time employment.
“He realises these are serious matters and these are jailable offences,” Mr Ringbauer said.
“The reason he committed the offences was complex ideas in his head about family [activities].
“He believed he was entitled to some money but he went about it in an illegal way due to a dispute with his family.”
Magistrate David Day gave Downey a 12-month supervised community corrections order for each cheque offence.
Mr Day said he would take Downey’s early guilty plea into consideration but said he also appeared to have a problem with alcohol.
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