Davis gets 12 years for passing worthless checks
A forgery spree will cost a local career criminal 12 years in prison after she victimized not only numerous local retailers but also members of her own family.
The defendant, Tammy Lynn Davis, 38, was ordered to serve 12 years and make restitution for scores of worthless checks she passed. Davis was ordered Wednesday by Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to serve a minimum 60 percent of her sentence before chance of parole because of her criminal record. Her sentence comes after she entered guilty pleas to scaled down charges, including 13 counts of theft and 19 counts of forgery. She originally faced around 80 criminal counts before the plea agreement was reached.
According to sheriff’s investigator Jim Hartman, the scam began when Davis gained power of attorney over her former mother-in-law and opened an account under the names Alice Vest-Tammy Davis. When Davis was kicked out of her in-law’s home, she reportedly took checks and other documents and continued writing checks on the account she opened, despite the fact there was no money in the account.
The checks ranged from around $25 to $400 and were written at numerous businesses. Most were written in November and December of 2003. In addition to passing worthless checks on that account, lawmen believe Davis was writing checks on the closed account of her dead father-in-law who passed away in 2002.
Along with her forgery spree, the 12-year sentence handed to Davis included a sentence for her filing a false police report in 2003, around the same time of the check scam. Davis claimed her house was broken into and several items stolen. However, lawmen later found she made up the story and had stashed the items elsewhere, perhaps with plans to fraudulently file an insurance claim.