The jury trial for an Irving, Texas man charged with involvement in a multi-state theft ring where items were purchased with counterfeit checks was made unnecessary when he pled guilty to the charges against him Wednesday afternoon in Baxter County Circuit Court.
Forty-four-year-old Roberto Jose Flores was sentenced to 10 years in prison after entering his plea to eight counts of 2nd degree forgery, theft by receiving, attempt to commit theft of property and theft of property.
It appeared that Flores was headed to trial as late as Monday afternoon. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender James Wallace, told the court during a final pre-trial appearance that Flores had rejected plea offers made by the state and the state had rejected Flores’ counter proposals.
Flores was arrested in January after he attempted to buy two ATV’s at Next Level Powersports and a soundbar from Acumen Audio with bad checks.
The ATV’s were valued at $26,000 and the items purchased at Acumen at $700.
An employee at Next Level Powersports told Flores that it would take about 30 minutes to get the two ATVs ready for delivery and Flores said he would return.
The Next Level Powersports employee told investigators he checked with his bank and was told the checks were bogus and he called the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office.
A deputy sheriff reported seeing the white Dodge 1500 with a gray 24-foot trailer attached that the suspect had driven to Next Level Powersports.
As Flores turned into the parking lot of the business, the deputy pulled in front of the truck and activated his emergency lights.
As information was developed, it was determined that Flores, using a fake name, had made similar purchases in a number of locations.
A Texas investigator told Baxter County authorities he had been in touch with 11 businesses in Arkansas and found that almost $290,000 in merchandise had allegedly been bought by Flores with counterfeit checks.
A loss estimate for the Texas cases was not included in the probable cause affidavit.
Flores told investigators he had been working for an unnamed man he called “his boss” for a short period. He said he had been introduced to the “boss” by a man known to him only as “George.”
The “boss” supplied the bogus checks and business cards, Flores said. He told investigators he knew the checks and business cards were bogus.
He said the driver’s license he used was not his and belonged to “some unfortunate person who lost it.”
He said the phone number on the business cards changed every three days and that information on the checks is tailored to the area in which he was working.
The “boss” had large maps on which he marked where purchases had been made by his “employees,” because he “did not like to buy too much in one area,” Flores told investigators.
During questioning, Flores mentioned being in Fayetteville, Harrison, Mountain Home, Hot Springs Jacksonville and Jonesboro. In Harrison, he is alleged to have purchased a $7,300 trailer with a counterfeit check. The trailer was the one attached to the truck when Flores was arrested.
He said once the purchases were made, the items were taken to the “boss” in Texas. At the time of his arrest, Flores had about $2,500 in cash in his possession. He said the money was paid to him by the “boss” for previous jobs.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Flores was allegedly traveling with his wife and three children.
Flores’ wife told investigators she and her husband had been eating at a restaurant in Texas when her husband left with a friend. When he returned, Flores was driving the truck he was in when arrested in Mountain Home. The vehicle was checked and came back to GVS Auto Sales. Investigators say they have been unable to contact anyone at the company.
Holds have been placed on Flores by two Arkansas Counties – Craighead and Hempstead. He also has extradition holds from two Texas counties – Denton and Garland.
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