From the Aug. 20, 1925 issue of The Landmark, Statesville, N.C. The mayor’s name is spelled Bristol in this article and Britol in another article on the same page of the paper.
Check Flasher Nabbed Here.
J.M. Kincaid Comes to Grief as Result of Attempt to Exchange Worthless Paper for Good Money—Woman Companion Allowed to Go—Theft of $40 Gives Officers Another Thrill.
Statesville experienced two sensational thrills in rapid succession Tuesday afternoon. Soon after three o’clock it was rumored that Eagle and Milholland had lost two $20 bills and the police officers were scouring the town to apprehend the guilty party. A small boy, residing in the Bloomfield section, had last been seen in the store and he was naturally suspected of the crim.
The boy was found at his home and a thorough examination by the officers brought no convincing evidence that he had taken the $40 in cash. He was therefore released and the officers have so far been unable to find any clue as to the identity of the thief.
Scarcely had the excitement from the theft mentioned subsided when the local police force and county officers got busy in the matter of locating a check flasher who had passed a $50 check on the Lazenby-Montgomery Hardware Company.
The check on the First National Bank was signed by J.M. Kincaid, who pretended that he wanted to buy a lawnmower and a few other articles amounting to $12.65. The man received from the hardware company the difference in cash between the check and the bill and proceeded on his course. Just a few minutes after Kincaid left the store, Mr. L.K. Lazenby found that J.M. Kincaid had no account in the First National Bank here. It was learned that Kincaid had also tried without success to pass worthless checks on the Conner-Bryant Hardware Company, J.B. Fraley, Gilmers and other local business men.
Interest in the case spread like wildfire until Kincaid and the woman with whom he had been traveling as husband and wife were arrested about 6:30 p.m. as they were taking a jitney for Salisbury at the Vance Hotel. It was found that the pair were both under the influence of drugs or strong drink, and they were taken to the city lockup where they occupied separate cells during the night.
Kincaid was identified by a traveling man as being a machinist residing in Richmond, Va., and the he was of a good family. In Mayor’s court this morning, Kincaid stated that he was born and reared in Burke county where many of his relatives now reside. He stated that he had lived for some time in Richmond, Va., and that he was visiting in this section of the State when he was “roped in” by the woman with whom he had passed as his wife, registering at the hotel here as J.H. Brown and wife. The woman gave her name as Mrs. Ninette Ballinger and stated that she had been adopted as a member of the Ballinger family living near Greenville, S.C. She claimed that she and Kincaid were married near Hickory last Sunday.
Next morning at 9 o’clock, Kincaid and the woman were given a hearing in Mayor Bristol’s court. Kincaid confessed to passing the check, but stated that at the time he was crazed with dope which the woman gave him. He said he was from the well-known and highly respected family of Kincaids in Burke county, the Mayor stating that he knew the man’s father and other relatives. Mr. L.K. Lazenby, when placed on the witness stand, testified to selling the man a lawn mower and other articles amounting to $12.65, giving Kincaid $27.35 in cash and a check for $10 in exchange for the check signed by J.M. Kincaid for $50 on the First National Bank. Mr. Lazenby explained that the name Kincaid was good and the man appeared to be all right, therefore he accepted the check without question and never got uneasy until after the fellow had left the store.
The woman confessed to being addicted to the dope habit and stated that she was a widow.
The police officers testified to having found $77 in cash on Kincaid when he was arrested Tuesday evening. The Mayor therefore ordered, from this amount, that all who had suffered losses at the hands of the check flasher be fully reimbursed, that the officers buy a ticket for the woman back to Greenville, S.C., and that Kincaid be held for trial in Recorder’s court next Monday under a $300 bond. Kincaid was unable to put up the bond and was taken to the county jail until he can arrange the bond. The mayor told Kincaid that he would give him a six-months road sentence if he had the power.
Also in The Landmark:
Other Towns Want Kincaid...Check Flasher Detained Here Wanted in Morganton and Hickory When Statesville Is Through With Him
From lasts reports of additional charges from Morganton and Hickory against J.M. Kincaid, who is being held in jail under a $300 bond for issuing worthless checks in Statesville Tuesday, it is likely that Kincaid will be detained for some time in his native Piedmont section of the state.
Sheriff Alexander has been notified by the sheriff of Burke county to hold Kincaid on warrants for giving worthless checks and beating a board bill.
Today the news comes from Hickory that Kincaid was free with his check flashing there, having been charged with signing the name of well-known grocer near Hickory to a check issued to the Abernathy Hardware Company. He was also charged with working the same “stunt” on a Hickory dry goods establishment.
Kincaid’s home is said to be in Richmond, Va. He was born and raised in Burke county, he states.
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