A 38-year-old man of no fixed address admitted to stealing two chequebooks and cashing the fraudulent cheques to the tune of $1,200.

Joeshon Hinson Russell pleaded guilty to 13 charges of theft and fraud in Magistrates’ Court, admitting he stole the Bank of Butterfield chequebooks from St John’s Pre-School and a member of the public last month, then used the cheques to make payments in his own name.

A staff member noticed discrepancies while auditing the preschool’s financial records, Crown counsel Loxly Ricketts told the court, at which point she froze the account and contacted the police.

Police found cheques of $450, $270, and $350 had been cashed in Russell’s name at the Money Shop and Butterfield Bank.

Russell also admitted stealing a chequebook from Lisa Teceria and writing a $643 cheque to himself and cashing it at Money Gram, claiming the payment was for building materials.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner remanded Russell into custody. He will be sentenced April 17.