Police: Man Forged, Cashed Checks

A Hamden man was arrested Thursday on charges that he made several transactions last October at a local bank using checks he forged.

Hamden Police got the report of fraud at People's Bank last Oct. 5, according to police spokesman Capt. Ronald Smith.

Employees told police that on Aug. 17  Romelk Best, 20, of 12 Lee St., Hamden, went to the bank to cash a check for $1,990.80, Smith said.

The next day he returned to the bank with another check, this one for $4,850, and opened a checking and savings account with it, Smith said.

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Two days later, bank employees discovered that both checks had been forged, Smith said.

Det. John Marks investigated and applied for a warrant for Best's arrest, Smith said. On Thursday, Best turned himself in to police. He was charged with two counts of third-degree forgery and fourth-degree larceny and released on a written promise to appear in Meriden Superior Court on Jan. 24.