Fayetteville police said they arrested a man trying to forge checks at a bank Friday who is also responsible for robbing an elderly woman at the downtown square last year.
Jared Lee Swearingen, 40, faces several felony charges following his arrested Friday afternoon at Bank of the Ozarks on West Wedington Drive.
Swearingen is homeless, according to an arrest report.
Bank employees called police to report a man at the counter, trying to forge a stolen check. Employees said the same man was in the bank the week before, trying to do the same thing, the arrest report states.
As police arrived at the bank, Swearingen walked out but they arrested him in the parking lot and found more stolen checks from more victims in his car, according to the report.
Once at jail, Swearingen refused to talk to detectives. Instead, he used a paper clip to try to pick the lock on the door of the interview room when they weren’t looking. They were watching him on the surveillance camera.
Swearingen’s co-defendant, Erin Maglothin, admitted to police that she and Swearingen had been breaking into cars, stealing checkbooks and forging checks, the report states.
Maglothin, who is 8 1/2 months pregnant and Swearingen’s girlfriend, said he was trying to stop abusing prescription drugs when the offenses occurred.
In addition, police said Swearingen is the suspect who robbed an elderly woman on the square last summer. He jumped into the woman’s car and scared her with a fake gun, the report states.
The robbery happened a year ago on July 29, 2011.
Swearingen faces charges of aggravated robbery, eight counts of second-degree forgery, breaking into a vehicle, attempted escape and residential burglary.
Maglothin, 30, of Fayetteville, faces eight counts of second-degree forgery.
