By Berenice Quirino
Bereniceq@record-bee.com @bquirino15183 on Twitter
Clearlake >> Police on Wednesday afternoon arrested a convicted felon who they believe is responsible for multiple instances of check fraud, totaling in excess of $1,000.
After months of investigation, detective Mark Barnes named John Clemons, 43, as the person of interest in the case, according to information from the Clearlake Police Department (CPD). Barnes and detective Ryan Peterson on Tuesday secured a search warrant for the suspect’s home, as well as an arrest warrant for two counts of felony forgery with a bail set for $15,000.
Clemons, however, was not home and instead called officers during the search refusing to turn himself in, CPD detective Sgt. Nick Bennett said. Police reportedly did discover a handgun and ammunition, some of which did not match the weapon, concerning officers at the time of the possibility that Clemons could be armed. They also seized two dogs considered “potentially dangerous” who Clemons allegedly concealed from Clearlake Animal Control.
The CPD spent Tuesday and Wednesday searching for Clemons until about 2:45 p.m. when they managed to arrest and book him into the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility without further incident.
Barnes was first assigned to the case in June when the CPD received information from the Peteluma Police Department regarding stolen and forged checks from a home there and deposited into a bank in Clearlake. The detective contacted the victim who did not know how the checks went missing, and said they were for an account that hadn’t been used in years. Barnes obtained additional information from Peteluma police and the Clearlake bank where the checks were cashed, narrowing down his search to Clemons, Bennett said.
Clemons now faces additional charges by the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for the alleged acts of fraud, due to his status as a felon, which makes it illegal to posses firearms and an enhanced bail of $150,000.
