article courtesy of The Morning Sun

Hundreds of dollars in returned checks written for pizza orders over two weeks led police to arrest a Mt. Pleasant man they say was using another person’s checkbook and debit card without permission.

Five checks written to Pisanello’s Pizza in Mt. Pleasant totalling $280, $125, $180, $69 and $236 between Dec. 16 and Dec. 22 were returned to the pizza business without sufficient funds in the account, according to Mt. Pleasant police records.

Those high-cost food orders were all delivered to an address in the 300 block of North Lansing, and a delivery driver was able to give a description of the man suspected of paying for the orders with the returned checks.

“The officer went to the residence and saw a man matching the description,” said Mt. Pleasant Police Public Information Office Jeff Browne. “There were also pizza boxes.”

Although police found the man they believed was their suspect, his name did not match the name on the checkbook.

When officers searched the home Tuesday, they also found a Bridge card and debit card belonging to a different person.

“Both the checkbooks and debit card were left at the residence after the victim moved out,” Browne said, noting police believe the 39-year-old Mt. Pleasant man was using the stolen forms of payment at other stores including Rite Aid and Meijer.

He was arrested for fraud and lodged in the Isabella County Jail where he awaits formal arraignment