From the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office

On April 25, 2014, at approximately 12:15 p.m., the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a fraud at the Moody Mart convenience store on River Road in Washington. Deputies learned two suspects entered the store and cashed two counterfeit paychecks from Precision Pallet, LLC in Pantego.

Investigators conducted interviews and gathered evidence. As a result of information and evidence gathered during the investigation, Investigator Jonathan Fowler applied for and obtained warrants charging Gerardo Mendoza Ramirez, age 20, of 104 Sandy Lane, Washington, and Shaquel O’Brian Collins, age 21, of 21 Camel Drive, Washington, with one count of felony uttering a forged instrument, one count of felony conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense, one count of felony identity theft and one count of felony forgery of an instrument.

On March 24, 2015, Ramirez turned himself into the Magistrates’ Office and was held in the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $5,000 secure bond.

As a result of information received by Beaufort County Crime Stoppers, Collins was arrested on April 25, 2015, by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division. Collins was held in the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $10,000 secure bond set by Magistrate Jasper Mills.