ST. CROIX — Police have arrested a man accused of stealing and depositing a check that belonged to a business establishment.

Noel Chaparro, age 33, was arrested following an investigation which was launched as a result of a complaint filed in January 2021.

According to an affidavit, a woman told police that on December 22nd, 2020 she wrote a check in the amount of $1,100 and dropped it off at an office. However, she was contacted by the manager of the business the following day and he indicated that he had not received the payment. The woman explained to police that while she had delivered the check herself, no one was in the office at the time so she slid it under the door.

Since the business manager had not received the check, the woman requested a stop payment on December 28th. The bank subsequently informed her that the check had already been deposited into an unknown account at a different bank. She requested a copy of the check from the bank and discovered that Noel Chaparro’s name was written next to the name of the business. According to the woman, she did not write the name and it was not in her handwriting. Days later, it was discovered that Chaparro was a musician who had stopped by the business in question the week prior to drop off a CD.

A warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued and he was later charged with obtaining money by false pretense, grand larceny and forgery. On Friday, Chaparro appeared before a judge who informed him that while bail would remain set at $20,000 he would be permitted to post $500 in cash and sign an unsecured bond for the remainder.

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