Billings Police Arrest 5 in Check Forgery Scheme

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Police in Billings have arrested five men on suspicion of felony forgery after they tried to cash checks at a bank while police were there on a different case.

Lt. Mark Cady says officers had been looking for a group of people that began cashing forged checks at local banks on Monday. Officers were at a Western Security Bank branch on another matter Wednesday when the men came in.

Bank employees were able to alert detectives and a chase ensued. Elijah Bearing of Lame Deer fled on foot and was arrested nearby. The other men, all from Georgia, left in a black sport utility vehicle. The men ended up running away after the driver of the SUV lost control.

Cady says the men were arrested while trying to check in at a motel.