Additional charges added to man previously arrested for stealing and pawning power tools

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Andrew Michael Fulford, Sr., 48, who was arrested on January 12 for stealing and pawning power tools, has now been charged with trying to cash checks he found in a truck he had borrowed.

The victims allowed Fulford to borrow a vehicle on December 13, with the intent that it would be returned in a day or two. However, Fulford reportedly kept asking to keep it longer, and this went on for almost two weeks.

The victims told a Gainesville Police Department officer that there were two checkbooks in the driver’s side door pocket that they had forgotten about; one checkbook was for an active account, and the other account was closed in 2014.

On December 28, the victims were notified by their bank that someone was trying to cash a check from the closed account, made out to “Andrew Fulford” for $350, at Ace Cash Express. After the account owner said he had not written the check, Ace Cash Express did not cash the check.

The victims called Fulford, who reportedly said he hadn’t tried to cash the check and it must have been someone else who had ridden with him in the vehicle. The victims asked him to return the vehicle immediately, and Fulford reportedly stopped answering their calls and only responded to text messages. He reportedly told the victims he was afraid to meet them because he “didn’t want the cops to jump him.” When they told him to return it by a specific time, he reportedly left the vehicle in a restaurant parking lot and told the victims where to find it. The victims reported that the vehicle was “trashed” and out of gas, and the spare tire was missing.

On January 2, the victims received an alert from their bank that a check for $337.50, made out to “Andrew Fulford,” had been successfully cashed from the active account at a Publix store. The victim notified the bank that the check was fraudulent. The victims received a copy of the check and notified the bank that the signature was forged using an old signature one of the victims used 10 years ago; the victim provided a written statement explaining that he had changed his signature 10 years ago on the advice of his attorney. The victims speculated that Fulford may have seen the old signature in the checkbook from the closed account.

Surveillance video from Publix reportedly shows a man, with his face clearly visible, signing the check and then receiving cash from the cashier. The victims positively identified the man in the video as Fulford. The man was wearing a green hat, and a matching hat was reportedly found in Fulford’s trunk after his arrest.

Post Miranda, Fulford reportedly declined to answer questions about this incident.

Fulford has been charged with attempting to pass a forged check and petit theft with two prior convictions, on top of the previous charges of four counts of dealing in stolen property, four counts of providing false information on a pawn transaction form, scheming to defraud and obtain property, and seven counts of petit theft with two prior theft convictions, all felonies. He has 18 felony convictions (none violent) and nine misdemeanor convictions (one violent), and he has served four state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2021. Judge Susan Miller-Jones added bail of $40,000 to the previous bail of $125,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

  • its a shame he did not poke and gouge out eyes with his King Donald Flag pole . He would have gotten a Full pardon and be out criming tonite .

    • Or tried to burn down a federal building with people inside it. You know, attempted murder, like the rioters did but it was okay because they were Liberals. I am constantly entertained by all the people who suffer daily with TDS.

    • What about the BLM scum burning down Minneapolis in 2020 while gov walzs wife was smoking dope and inhaling burning tire fumes???

    • Full pardon, you mean 14 year crime spree for the entire family. Get a grip, you are (or should be embarrassing yourself.)

  • He obviously enjoys living in the state owned hotel, having stayed on four previous occasions. Let’s help him out with a maximum sentence (if convicted).

  • >