Police said a 33-year-old man was arrested after attempting to cash an unauthorized check at a Bank Plus branch on Feb. 3.
Officers were dispatched about 1:23 p.m. to Bank Plus at 917 Memorial Blvd after an employee reported someone trying to cash a $200 check, police said in a social media post. Officers detained Frank Henry of Poplarville, Mississippi, in the bank parking lot as he fled the scene.
Police said the checks were later confirmed stolen from Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in St. Tammany Parish but had not been reported missing at the time of the incident. Henry is charged with two counts of felony false pretense, possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia. He also faces three outstanding warrants held by the Poplarville Police Department for contempt of court, false report of a crime and abusive calls to emergency telephone service.
Police said Henry on Feb. 2 successfully cashed two checks from the same account for $583 and $700. Officers obtained and executed a search warrant at a nearby motel room where they located 42-year-old Joshua Jones of Picayune, Mississippi; Jones was arrested on two outstanding warrants held by the Pearl River County Sheriffs Department for possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence.
Employees at a nearby IHOP told officers that 38-year-old Pharoh Davis was also staying in the room and that Henry, Jones and Davis ate breakfast there the morning of the arrests and left without paying. Police said charges for defrauding an innkeeper are pending for all three.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
