Two Tampa men now face 22 felony charges after allegedly trying to pass counterfeit checks at Charlotte State Bank, 1100 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte.
Antonio M. Lovette, 37, 914 E. Humphrey St., and Elmer Joseph McGuirt, 29, 901 East Seward Ave., both of Tampa, were charged with 19 counts possession of counterfeited payment instrument, one count grand theft, uttering a forged check and possession of a blank, forged or stolen driver's license or identification card. McGuirt was also charged with an outstanding felony Hillsborough County warrant for robbery. He remains in jail on no bond. Lovette posted a $55,000 bond and was released Saturday. .
CCSO received a call at 1:40 p.m. Friday from a bank manager when a man tried to cash a $1,966 payroll check from a business in Charlotte Harbor using a Kentucky ID card with the name of Michael Green. As the teller stalled the transaction the man left the bank and drove north on U.S. 41. "Greene" left the check and fake Id with the teller.
Article Photos
Antonio Lovette
A road patrol deputy stopped driver Lovette and passenger McGuirt. A search allegedly turned up 18 fraudulent payroll checks from various businesses along with another fake ID from Kentucky with McGuirt's photo.
