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BUCKHANNON -- A man has been charged with multiple felonies after allegedly attempting to use a fake ID to withdraw more than $4,000 from another person’s bank account.
Dorion Keith Butler, 59, is charged with one count of forging or uttering other writing, one count of conspiracy, one count of taking the identity of another person and one count of attempt to commit a felony, all felonies. He is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $40,000 property/surety bond for the felony charges, as well as being held with no bond as a fugitive wanted in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Patrolman Cole Bender with the Buckhannon City Police Department, on Oct. 1, Bender responded to People’s Bank in Buckhannon after being notified of a panic alarm.
Upon arrival, Bender spoke to the bank employees who advised there had been a male subject in the bank allegedly pretending to be someone else, the complaint states. The employees also said the male subject had reportedly already been to another People’s Bank and gave a different name there.
Bender then made contact with the male subject inside the bank. The male subject was heading for the door when Bender arrived at the scene and had left his ID with the bank teller. When Bender received the ID from the bank teller and asked the man’s name, the male subject allegedly said his name was “David Hermans,” but spelled the name differently from how it was spelled on the ID.
Bender ran the ID through the Department of Motor Vehicles via Upshur Communication Center, the complaint states. While the ID was “seemingly correct,” the physical ID card the bank had on record for the account holder had a different picture and name spelling. Bender later confirmed the ID the bank had on record was legitimate and matched DMV records. While speaking with Bender, the male subject reportedly threw some items into the trash in front of Bender. Bender brought the male subject outside and placed him in handcuffs before requesting assistance from additional units.
Upon the arrival of other officers, Bender spoke again with the bank tellers, who provided him with more information, the complaint states. They advised the male subject was attempting to withdraw $4,290 from a home equity line of credit in the account holder’s name. The tellers also advised that the male subject had signed the note and presented himself as “Mr. David Herman,” which is not the correct spelling of the account holder’s name. They further advised that they were able to hear the male subject tell someone on the phone that the police were outside of the bank before he came in. The male subject allegedly told Bender he had been on the phone with his brother.
During his investigation, Bender discovered that the items thrown away by the male subject were an allegedly fraudulent military ID that also presented him as “David Herman,” the complaint states. In the trash was also a piece of paper that reportedly had the account holder’s name, date of birth, address, phone number and Social Security number handwritten on it. The bank employees told Bender the male subject had asked if they needed to see both a driver’s license and the military ID before he put the military ID away.
The employees at this branch of People’s Bank had been informed about this male subject by another branch, the complaint states. The other branch reportedly stated the male subject had been at their location where he used a West Virginia ID and a military ID in a different account holder’s name. The other branch took copies of the documents and sent them over.
According to the complaint, Bender arrested the male subject and, upon transporting him to the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, reportedly identified him as Butler using a live scan machine.
A preliminary hearing for Butler has been scheduled for Oct. 9 in Upshur County Magistrate Court.