Holts Summit man pleads guilty in scheme to steal from retirement home residents

A Holts Summit man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge in connection with a scheme to steal from elderly residents at a Columbia retirement community.

Jordan Booker, 25, was charged in Cole County Court with one count of receiving stolen property.

He pleaded guilty during a hearing before Cole County Judge Jon Beetem, who placed Booker on five years of supervised probation.

In January 2018, Booker attempted to cash a stolen check for $492 on a closed account at a Jefferson City bank, according to a Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statement.

Authorities discovered this incident was tied to a rash of thefts that had taken place at Lenoir Woods Assisted Living in Columbia, where employees had been stealing checks from elderly residents. The checks were handed out in a money-making scheme where suspects would attempt to cash them at various banks.

The account holder in this case resided at Lenoir and stated he had never written a check to Booker.

When comparing the account holder’s signature on file at Central Bank to the signature on the check, authorities said it was apparent they were not the same.

The teller at the bank asked for a thumbprint to be placed on the check, which Booker did. He then drove off as the teller was trying to get approval from a manager. The thumbprint was sent to the Missouri Highway Patrol Crime Lab for analysis and matched to Booker’s.