$20,000 Bail For Man Who Allegedly Stole $12,000 From His Own Mother – Then Hid In The Closet From Police
48 year-old Justin Tomlinson is being held in the Missoula County Jail on $20,000 bond after allegedly forging nearly $12,000 in checks from his own mother's account, and when police arrived to investigate, he was found hiding in a closet.
Tomlinson is charged with two felonies, exploitation of an older person and forgery, according to Deputy Missoula County Attorney Lacey Lincoln.
"The victim in this case is the elderly mother of the defendant," Lincoln began. "It appears he's stolen over $12,000 from her in the past months. He has resorted to intimidation and physical neglect to keep the victim isolated, dependent and quiet. He does live with her and she is very frightened of retribution once he is released. She did obtain a restraining order against him on Friday,"
Lincoln told Judge Marie Anderson that Tomlinson has an extensive criminal history.
"The defendant has a history of two PFMA's, one from 2015 and one from 2016," she said. "He also has 11 violations of orders of protection, 8 from 2015 and three from 2016. He is still serving a deferred sentence from his last PFMA which involved his girlfriend and not his mother. These charges show his dangerous nature towards other family members."
Lincoln also asked Judge Anderson that Tomlinson have no access to his mother's finances or bank accounts.
Judge Anderson set bail at $20,000, and ordered Tomlinson to have no contact with his mother.