Man accused of stealing deceased woman's checks

William Clint Wright, 31, Bloomfield, is being held in the Greene County Jail in lieu of $24,000 bond following his arrest last Friday.

Preliminary charges filed against him in Greene Superior Court include burglary as a class C felony, burglary as a class D felony and two counts of class D felony theft.

Wright is accused of going into the unoccupied home of a deceased woman in Bloomfield, stealing her checks for a closed account at Bloomfield State Bank, signing her name on several of these checks and cashing them at a Bloomfield business.

He is also accused of taking other items from another residence in Bloomfield.

Wright was arrested by Greene County Sheriff's Lt. Bryan K. Woodall following an ongoing investigation that began in November.

The probable cause affidavit states that a complaint was received Nov. 24 from the deceased woman's son. He said he had been contacted by Hasler Oil Company about checks that were cashed at their business using his mother's account which had been closed.

Lt. Woodall and GCSD Det. George Dallaire were able to obtain the checks -- nine checks were made payable to Hasler Oil, all dated between Nov. 20 and Nov. 23 in amounts ranging from $50 up to $125 and all appearing to be signed by the deceased woman.

In addition to the checks, the son told the officers that some other items had been stolen from his own property, including used car parts.

The affidavit states a neighbor of the son remembered seeing Wright taking items from the son's property.

Wright was interviewed by the officers last Friday. According to the affidavit, he admitted to taking the checks during two burglaries he did in November. He said he acted alone and he wrote the checks to pay for gasoline and get cash. He also said he took an extension cord, copper wire in rolls and car parts.