Man arrested for organized crime

GONZALES -- A Hope man wound up in Gonzales County Jail after police said he was caught passing counterfeit checks at retail stores in Gonzales, Port Lavaca, Victoria and other cities.

On Tuesday, May 9, local police were notified by the Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office of an identity theft/forgery case in which the victim had several counterfeit checks being passed from her account in the Gonzales, Port Lavaca and Victoria areas, Capt. Allen Taylor reported.

GPD’s investigation revealed a total of six checks had been passed at HEB and Walmart stores in those cities. Police obtained video footage from the stores, and photos of the suspect and his vehicle were taken from the video, Taylor said.

On May 11, GPD received information on the suspect, identifying him as Jesse Lopez III, 35, of Hope.

During the investigation GPD worked with an outside agency which revealed other counterfeit checks were also being passed in other areas. The checks were found to be tied to the Lopez case, Taylor said.

On May 30, County Judge David Bird issued a warrant for Lopez’s arrest. On June 6, Lavaca County law enforcement notified GPD they had Lopez in custody. Lopez was later transferred to GPD’s custody and taken to Gonzales County Jail, where he confessed to passing the counterfeit checks. He is charged with engaging in organized crime.