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Crime & Safety

Bounced Check Leads to Felony Charges

An Inver Grove Heights man has been charged with two felonies for writing out bad checks for auto repair work.

Victor Jules Harper, a 29-year-old Inver Grove Heights man, has been charged with two felonies after writing a check that bounced.

Harper has been charged with issuance of a dishonored check and theft by false imprisonment, which each carry a separate maximum penalty of 5 years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

According to the complaint Harper wrote a check out to an Inver Grove Heights business for auto repairs in September 2011.

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The owner reportedly cashed the $1,700.47 check which was returned by the bank for non-sufficient funds. The owner told police he tried to contact Harper for payment but after a few weeks he hadn’t heard back.

The report states police contacted Harper in late September when he explained "the check bounced because he was supposed to get some money from someone who ‘let him down,’" and he would "’make it right’ and pay back the money soon."

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On Oct. 18 the business owner said Harper set up a payment plan to pay half of the money by Oct. 14 and the other half on Oct. 28 but had done neither of those. In November the police officer found out Harper had only paid $500 of the total bill.

"The officer obtained bank records for the defendant’s personal checking account and determined that the defendant has a history of writing non-sufficient funds checks and at no time during August, September or October of 2011, did he have sufficient funds in his account to pay the check," according to the complaint.

Harper was sent the summons via U.S. Post Office and will have to schedule a court appearance.

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