Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, Officer Al Cronin of the Middlebury Police Department received a complaint from the Waterbury Teachers Credit Union on Straits Turnpike that a bad check had been presented at their institution. They had contacted a customer about a check on his account that had been altered. It appeared as if the check had been made out to an insurance company but had been altered to read CASH. The customer confirmed the check was made out to a specific insurance company, not cash, and said the insurance company had contacted him and informed him his check had never been credited to reflect a payment on his account.
Upon further investigation it was determined that a Lauren Sawyer, 31, of 61 Wilder St. in Watertown, Conn., had cashed the check, which was in the amount of $503.06. When officers checked with Sawyer at her residence, it was determined that she did in fact cash the check in October 2014 and that she received the check from a person known to her. Sawyer was arrested for first-degree forgery and fifth-degree larceny, processed and released from the Middlebury Police Department. She posted a $5,000 non-surety bond.
