Two jailed for attempting to cash stolen checks

Two men face felony charges including forgery and obtaining money under false pretenses after being arrested Saturday in Carson City.

Stefan Lee Houser, 21, of Dayton and Joel David Germain, 43, of Long Beach, Calif., were arrested at 4:45 p.m. April 13 in the area of Lone Mountain and Winnie Lane.

According to the arrest report, the victim reported to Carson City Sheriff's Office deputies that his bank informed him of fraud being perpetrated on his checking account. The victim didn't know the suspects and didn't write the checks to anyone and did noticed that checks were out of numerical order.

Authorities were able to catch up with the suspects after interviews and learning that one of the suspects involved used his real name to cash the checks through a Carson City check cashing business. Handwriting and signatures matched those of Houser, according to the arrest report.

Houser faces felony forgery, uttering a forged instrument and obtaining money under false pretenses. Bail: $30,000.

Germain initially stated he got the check from some unknown person for doing landscaping work but then stated that he and Houser got the checks from a man, acquainted with Houser, with the purpose of cashing the checks. He faces a felony charge of obtaining money under false pretenses. Bail: $20,000.

— A 34-year-old Carson City man was booked into jail Sunday and faces a felony charge of failure to register as a sex offender.
Dwayne Kirk Snyder had two warrants for his arrest. The felony failure to register as a sex offender was issued Aug. 27, 2012 and a traffic warrant out of Lyon County, Nov. 7, 2012.
He was being held without bail for the felony warrant.

In misdemeanor-related arrests:

— A 35-year-old transient woman was arrested Sunday in the 100 block of Long street and faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer.

The arrest happened at 12:38 p.m. The woman was yelling obscenities at passersby and yelled at a police officer, who asked her to calm down. The woman responded by walking out in the middle of the number two lane of traffic on Carson Street and dumped her belongings in the middle of the road causing traffic to back up. She was taken into custody. Bail: $644.

— A 26-year-old transient was arrested Sunday in the 2700 block of Meno Drive and faces misdemeanor charges of possessing marijuana paraphernalia. The man had been detained at the Menlo street address after there was an anonymous call to dispatch regarding a residential burglary.
The man agreed to be searched as he was detained, and officers found a metal cylinder with marijuana and a pipe and a Ziplock baggie with marijuana residue. Bail:$1,137.

— A 30-year-old Carson City woman was arrested Sunday around midnight in the 1300 block of Jerry Lane and faces a charge of contempt of court. Officers responded to the residence for a domestic dispute. The woman said she and her boyfriend had a verbal argument in which he left. A wants and warrants check on the woman found that she had a warrant for her arrest out of Carson City Justice Court dated April 11. The warrant was for failure to obtain domestic violence evaluation and pay fines and fees. Bail: $500.

— A 37-year-old woman faces several misdemeanor charges including DUI and hit and run (property) after being arrested April 12, 11:57 p.m. in the 2700 block of Carmine Street.

According to the arrest report the woman drove through the fence of a front yard and then drove away. The owner of the residence followed the woman until authorities arrived and observed there were pieces of fenced lodged in the rear of her vehicle.

Authorities noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from the woman, slurred speech and red eyes. She advised that she had a couple of drinks of wine earlier. She could not provide authorities with current insurance documents, the report states.

The woman was asked why she did not stop after hitting the fence. The woman told officers that she did not know she hit the fence until she hit the fence. "She told me that she just did not stop," according to the officer's report.

The woman failed all field sobriety tests and was taken to jail. She faces charges of DUI first offense, hit and run property, failure to maintain a single lane and no proof of insurance. Bail: $2,578.

— A 52-year-old Carson City woman faces a misdemeanor DUI charge and was arrested at 9:34 p.m. in the 500 block of North Carson Street. The woman backed her vehicle into another vehicle in the valet area of a casino, according to the arrest report. When officers arrived they observed signs of impairment. Bail: $1,249.

— A 20-year-old Carson City man faces a gross misdemeanor charge of battery on a police officer and being a minor possessing alcohol. The man was arrested April 12, 11:22 p.m. in the 200 block of Caroline.

According to the arrest report, the man was found to be in possession of an unopened bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila. When officers asked where he got the booze, the man said he found it. The man was informed he was going to get a citation for having a bottle of alcohol in his possession.

When the officer advised he was going to get a written citation, the man began to act irrational and threw himself on the ground screaming "My life is over. I wanna die. Just kill me now," the arrest report states. Because of this erratic behavior, he was placed into handcuffs. As the officer attempted to calm him down, the man turned violent, kicking him. Bail: $2,742.

Those arrested and facing charges are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.