Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By IAN MINIELLY
Ironwood — Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department deputy Adam Zak received word on Dec. 26 that area businesses were receiving bad checks from a business account that did not exist.
The checks to Forslund’s and Steiger’s hardware stores in the hundreds of dollars each were primarily used for construction equipment. Most of the equipment has been returned to the stores after it was recovered at an area motel.
The Ironwood Public Safety Department and sheriff’s department obtained a vehicle description for the suspect from area businesses’ video cameras and members of the IPSD located a similar vehicle parked outside an area motel.
The IPSD took up a surveillance position, where they were able to maintain eyes on the vehicle and motel.
In many cases, according to Zak, when someone writes a lot of bad checks in an area, they tend to leave quickly before they can be caught. That put local law enforcement officers under pressure to locate and identify the suspect quickly.
Not wanting to allow the suspect to skip town, but also needing to build the case, the IPSD continued surveillance while Zak talked to multiple area businesses regarding receipt of bad checks from PJ Construction.
During the investigation, law enforcement in Hurley confirmed Pat’s Food had received bad paper which, combined with Super One in Ironwood, meant the bad check writer was not going hungry.
Zak heard Floors N’ Mor in Ironwood had received a similar check. The store owners confirmed they received a large check for flooring materials from PJ Construction. In an odd turn of events, before they could cash the check, the suspected perpetrator returned the carpeting and the checks were voided because the suspect said he found something similar online, according to the police report.
At this point, multiple area businesses had bad paper from the suspect and the sheriff’s department moved in to make an arrest.
Jeffrey Michael Emery, 39, of Ironwood, was detained and confirmed he had written the checks to area businesses during questioning, but said they were his business partner’s checks and he should not have used them without his partner’s knowledge.
The owner of the motel could not confirm the description of Emery’s claimed business partner and most of the material purchased locally was discovered within the confines of the suspect’s motel room, except the food.
Emery was arraigned Thursday and charged with four counts of uttering and publishing bad checks, a two-year felony, and three charges of no accounts checks, a 14-year felony, according to Zak.
Ben Drier, of Wells Fargo, confirmed the checks were not valid when shown the checks by Zak. Drier provided Zak with multiple details, just from a visual inspection, that pointed to the charges.
Upon checking the accounts on the checks, they were confirmed as non-existent.
More charges are pending.