A Boise man has been charged in Blaine County with felony grand theft and forgery for allegedly stealing $7,400 from his father in Bellevue.
Shannon Mose Halverson, 37, was charged with the crimes on Feb. 24 after more than a month of investigation by the Bellevue Marshal's Office. Halverson is accused of breaking into his father's vehicle in Bellevue in January and stealing a GPS system and two checks from the back of a checkbook. He then allegedly forged his father's signature on the checks written to himself and cashed one in Hailey and the other in Washington.
Marshal Bryan Carpita said Monday that both checks were written for $3,700.
"His story was it was $100 for each year of his life and that it was a birthday present from his dad," Carpita said.
The marshal said Halverson is being held in Reno, Nev., on charges there of domestic battery, possession of forged checks and possession of stolen property. Carpita said he doesn't know when Halverson will be extradited to Idaho.
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"It's going to be a little while before we see him, unfortunately," he said.
The marshal said the investigation started Jan. 21 when 58-year-old Michael Halverson reported that someone broke a window on his vehicle about noon while it was parked at Jesse's Country Grill on Main Street. Carpita said it wasn't initially known that the checks were missing until they showed up in Michael Halverson's bank statement.
Carpita said it is common criminal practice to steal a few checks from the back of a checkbook, hoping the theft won't be noticed until after the remaining checks are used.
"When the checks got cashed, it turned out that the checks were written to his son," Carpita said.
The marshal said Shannon Halverson is a suspect in two other Bellevue cases involving theft and forgery that are still under investigation.
According to court records, Shannon Halverson has prior misdemeanor convictions in Blaine County for domestic battery, probation violation, malicious injury to property, possession of a controlled substance, battery and DUI.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Shannon Mose Halverson
