WILMINGTON Twp., Pa. (WKBN) -- A man accused of armed robbery and his wife are facing forgery charges after allegedly passing bad checks at grocery stores.
According to a criminal complaint, Pennsylvania State Police were dispatched to an Amish community grocery store in Wilmington Township on April 1. The owner of the store said two personal checks received as payment the day prior were invalid, as the account on the checks no longer existed.
Reports state that a male and female entered the store on March 31, purchased $264.62 in merchandise and asked for $60 in cash back.
The owner said a woman entered the store later in the day, requesting an additional $200 in cash back and was refused an amount that high. The woman then passed a check for $39.82 in merchandise, and the owner asked for her license, which she said she forgot, reports state. The owner then watched her leave the store and wrote down her license plate.
Police obtained the checks and connected them back to a personal bank account of a deceased woman from Volant. They identified the suspects as West Middlesex couple Todd and Gina Baker, based on the car's registration.
In a traffic stop on April 2, police found the couple with a checkbook that matched the bad checks, as well as bags of groceries that could be found at Amish stores, reports state. The merchandise was later confirmed to be from an Amish Store in New Wilmington and returned.
This store told police in reports that they received two checks from the same account in the amounts of $141 on March 31 and $312 on April 1, and that Todd had asked for $100 in cash during each purchase.
A criminal complaint states that Gina Baker told police she and Todd passed checks from Todd's deceased grandmother's account at various Amish stores over several days. She said she filled out the check because Todd "didn't know how" to, according to reports.
Gina was charged with four counts of forgery and bad checks and one count of theft by deception. Details on her bail were not available, but she is not currently listed in the Mercer County Jail and was arraigned on Monday. Her next court date has not been set.
The owner of the Wilmington Township store told police in a later interview that Todd had recently been providing power washing services to local Amish families and businesses.
Todd was charged with four counts of forgery and bad checks and one count of theft by deception. His bail was set at $25,000 during an arraignment Monday, but he remains in the Mercer County Jail, unable to post. He is due back in court on May 15.
Todd is also accused of allegedly robbing a man at gunpoint on March 27 in Lackawannock Township. He is due next in Common Pleas court for this case on July 1.
