Norristown man faces jail term on forgery charge

NORRISTOWN » A Norristown man will be under court supervision for nearly two years after he admitted to forging his employer’s name on company checks which he used for personal expenses.

Gustavo A. Andres, 23, of the 1000 block of DeKalb Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of forgery in connection with incidents that occurred in September 2019.

The sentence was imposed by Judge Wendy G. Rothstein as part of a plea agreement.

Other charges of receiving stolen property, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception were dismissed against Andres as part of the plea agreement.

The judge ordered Andres to pay $1,900 in restitution to his employer.

An investigation began on Sept. 26, 2019, when Norristown police responded to the Cinco De Mayo Supermarket

and Deli on Markley Street for a report that Andres passed two checks at the business, checks that were determined to be forged, according to the criminal complaint. One check was passed on Sept. 6 for $980 and the second check was passed on Sept. 20 for $950, police said.

The investigation determined the checks were linked to Andres’ employer, El Sanchez Auto Repair and Towing, of Norristown, court documents indicate. The owner of the towing company “confirmed the checks were forged after viewing the signatures,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Norristown police.

When he was confronted by police about the incident, Andres admitted to taking the checks due to a “need to pay rent,” according to the criminal complaint.

When police searched Andres’ DeKalb Street apartment they observed in plain view in a front bedroom two other blank TD Bank checks belonging to the towing business, according to court papers.