Wattsville man pleads guilty to forging checks

By Linda Cicoira

A man from the Wattsville area pleaded guilty late last week in Accomack Circuit Court to two counts of forging checks totaling $1,480 that bore the name of the University of Charleston in West Virginia.

Thirty-three-year-old Larry William Austin cashed the checks at the El Crucero Tienda, a store in Belle Haven, on June 3, 2022. A complaint was made after Austin tried to pass another check, and his ID was not returned to him. Authorities say similar altered or fictitious checks were cashed in Northampton County and are believed to be part of a much larger fraud scheme.

The maximum punishment for the crimes is 40 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. Four other charges were not prosecuted. Sentencing was set for May 8.

In another case, 41-year-old Winston Miller III, of Whites Neck Road, in Parksley, was sentenced to a year of active time for stealing a wallet last summer from the purse of a woman who interviewed him for a job.

Miller was sentenced to 10 years each for two counts of credit card larceny. All but the year was suspended. Miller will be on supervised probation for two years and on good behavior for five years. He has been in jail since August. The incident occurred in late July.

Defense lawyer Shannon Dunham said her client was very remorseful.

     Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney William Fox said Miller attempted to use one of the credit cards in the wallet, but he could not provide the code to complete the transaction.