Photo provided by the Sitka Police Department
A grand jury has indicted a 27-year-old Sitka resident for forging almost 30 checks from a local tour business.
Court documents filed by prosecutors say Jeffrey Baxter stole checks from the business account of Sitka Sound Ocean Adventures. They say he forged the signatures of owners Alison and John Dunlap, misspelling their last name as “Dunlop” and signing a few of them as “John Brown.”
Baxter was not an employee of Sitka Sound Ocean Adventures and was not authorized to write company checks. Prosecutors say between April and June of this year, he cashed 24 of those checks at AC Lakeside and five checks at Sea Mart Quality Foods. Combined, the checks totaled $6,656.
Dunlap contacted the Sitka Police Department June 20th to report the stolen checks. He provided copies of those checks, which were issued out of the Sitka Wells Fargo bank and paid to Baxter. Police Officer Gary Cranford reviewed security footage from the two grocery stores and observed Baxter cashing checks at both establishments.
Baxter was indicted July 21st and appeared before Sitka Superior Court July 25th. All 29 counts are for second-degree forgery, a Class C felony. His trial is scheduled for October.
