Monitor Editor
LAKE BUTLER— Union deputies arrested a 27-year-old Starke man after they said he stole two paychecks made out to former co-workers and cashed the checks at a Lake Butler convenience store.
Connor Lee Austin was arrested on March 29 for larceny.
According to a sworn complaint, Austin’s former employer put a stop-payment order on the checks after discovering that the checks for two of his current workers were missing. One check was for $859.68 and a second totaled $1,341.30.
The business owner told deputies that he kept employee paychecks in a box and that the workers knew where the checks were located.
Austin cashed the checks on Feb. 4 at a Lake Butler convenience store, but the two items were returned to the merchant unpaid due to the stop-payment order.
Although the store owner did not collect identification from the check casher, Austin’s former boss recognized the 27-year-old from store surveillance video.
