3 Felony Charges : Police Officer Accused of Writing Bad Checks

A Hawthorne police officer faces three felony charges and disciplinary action after allegedly writing a string of bad checks to local businesses, fellow officers and a city councilman.

Officer James Dean White was arrested last week and charged with writing four checks, totaling $1,601, that were returned because of insufficient funds. White, 29, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment March 16 and is free on his own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing April 21 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.

White could not be reached for comment. The six-year police veteran has been suspended with pay while the department investigates the charges, said police Capt. Steve Port.

More bad check charges could have been filed but would not have served any purpose, said Deputy District Atty. Christopher Darden. “We could probably file literally many, many, many counts,” Darden said. “But if we can resolve these (three charges) in an equitable way--in a way that’s fair to him and the victims--I won’t file any more counts.”

White is accused of writing bad checks to a 7-Eleven store, two liquor stores and a Gardena auto shop. One felony charge includes both liquor store checks, which allegedly were written on the same day.

4 Officers File Complaints

It is a felony to write a check on a bank account knowing there are insufficient funds to cover it.

Police officials and Darden refused to say how many bad checks were written. But four police officers filed complaints with the department saying they received bad checks from White, two other officers said. And City Councilman Chuck Bookhammer said in an interview that White wrote him a $600 check that bounced.

Bookhammer said he hired White to build brick planter boxes in his back yard and paid the White $800 in advance for materials. But White, who lays bricks during his off hours, never started the work or delivered any of the materials, Bookhammer said.

The city councilman said he asked for his money back, but received just $200 in cash and a bad check. White later repaid the remaining $600 in cash, Bookhammer said.

“I don’t think his intent was to hurt anybody financially,” Bookhammer said. “When he came through with the cash he was very apologetic and he said: ‘This is not something I want to lose my job over.’ ”