ROCKINGHAM — Police have charged two Hamlet men with trying to cash fraudulent checks.
Stephen Patrick Culler, 52, of Plymouth Circle allegedly forged and successfully cashed at a bank two $150 checks from two people — one of whom shared his last name — on Jan. 17, warrants for his arrest show.
Culler was arrested April 16 and charged with obtaining property by false pretense, identity theft and forgery of instrument, all felonies. He also was charged with one misdemeanor count of larceny.
Culler was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court May 3.
In 1982, he was convicted of one felony count of larceny of firearms, one felony count of breaking and entering. In 1986, he was convicted of felony common-law robbery. He served a combined sentence of five years and five months, state records show.
Culler also has convictions on felony of larceny of more than $200, receiving stolen goods, possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a felon. He also has been convicted of a misdemeanor count of larceny of more than $200. He served a combined five years and six months for the charges beginning in 1989.
He was incarcerated again in March 1997, following convictions for two felony counts of second-degree burglary, for which he served a year and nine months in prison.
Culler’s most recent conviction was his longest, stemming from June 2003 felony convictions for breaking and entering and for being a habitual felon. He served 11 years and nine months in prison for these charges and was released March 1, 2015.
In the second fraud case, Rodrick Powers, 27, of Taylor Street allegedly tried to cash a counterfeit check for $997.54 at the Rockingham Walmart on June 26, 2017, arrest warrants show. He was arrested April 18.
Powers is charged with felony counts of attempting to obtain property by false pretense, forgery of instrument and attempted uttering.
He was being held under a $5,000 unsecured bond and is scheduled to appear in court May 3.
Powers has no prior convictions, state records show.
