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Allentown man arrested after chasing drug money to Vermont
Nov 25, 2009 (The Morning Call - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
An Allentown man was arrested in Vermont for barging into the home of a man who owed him money for drugs last week, and then forcing the man's roommate to cash a check to pay back the money, according to court records.
Maurice Laseter, 29, of 1015 S. Jefferson St., was charged with kidnapping and extortion and was sent to the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland, Vt., under $300,000 bail.
He was arrested when the 27-year-old man he forced into a Wal-Mart to cash a check called police while Laseter waited in his car listening to music. According to an arrest affidavit:
Garrett Lear told Rutland police that a black male he only knows as Travis but later identified as Laseter came to his apartment on Friday at 5:20 p.m. and told him that his roommate owed him money. Because the roommate wasn't home, Laseter told Lear that he has to settle the debt or he "will wash him up and get rid of him."
Laseter then called someone on his cell phone, only identified in court papers as a "brother," and put it on speaker phone. A voice on the line repeated that if Lear doesn't settle the debt that Laseter should "wash him up and get rid of him."
Lear told police that he believed that Laseter was going to kill him if he did not do as he said. Lear told Laseter that he needed to cash his work check to get him the money. Lear drove to the Wal-Mart where Laseter told him to leave the keys in the ignition so he could listen to music while Lear cashed the check.
As soon as Lear entered the store, he called 911. Lear still attempted to cash the check, but couldn't because his wallet and identification card were with Laseter. When police arrived, they spoke to Lear inside the Wal-Mart. They arrested Laseter who was still sitting in the passenger seat of Lear's vehicle.
According to Vermont authorities, a computer check revealed that Laseter is wanted by the U.S. Marshal's for failure to appear on a dangerous drug charge.
- Manuel Gamiz Jr.
To see more of The Morning Call, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.mcall.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
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