Man charged in checks forgery
A man faces forgery and theft charges after checks were taken from mailboxes and cashed, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
A caller reported a theft from a Hixson mailbox March 18, according to a news release. Deputy Mickey Rountree identified James Brett Huckabee as a suspect after finding out where the checks had been cashed and discovering Huckabee had forged his name on the stolen checks, according to sheriff’s office spokeswoman Janice Atkinson.
Huckabee was an independent contractor delivering newspapers for the Chattanooga Times Free Press at the time of some of the thefts, according to the news release. His contract was terminated March 8, newspaper records show.
Deputies located Huckabee at 1553 Dallas Lake Road on Thursday. In an effort to draw authorities away from his residence, Huckabee placed a false call on a disorder with a weapon occurring at another address, Atkinson said. She said the ploy didn’t work and that officers found Huckabee hiding under the kitchen sink.