A Columbia man has pleaded guilty to amended charges in a Cole County check-forging case.
During a hearing before Cole County Judge Dan Green, Alexander Melise, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor stealing. He was placed on two years of unsupervised probation. If he fails to meet the requirements of his probation, he must serve 60 days in the Cole County Jail. Prosecutors dismissed two counts of felony forgery and one count of felony stealing Melise had been facing.
In December 2019, Melise went to the Central Bank branch at Walmart on Supercenter Drive, according to a Jefferson City Police Department report. Authorities said Melise passed a forged check with a forged signature to a video teller machine and cashed it, receiving $3,225 in cash. Before the check could be cashed, Melise had to provide the machine with his driver's license to be scanned and verified.
On the same day, he went to the Central Bank branch at Walmart on West Stadium Boulevard and presented a forged check with a forged signature to a teller and cashed it, receiving $3,425 in cash.