Utica Man Arrested on Armed Robbery, Check Forgery Charges

Police are releasing details about an investigation that took place earlier this month resulting in the arrest of a Utica man.

On Tuesday, May 3, 2022 members of the Utica Police Department and the Oneida County Sheriff's Office were conducting a search at the home of a suspect in an armed robbery. The robbery had taken place in Bridgewater, New York.

While searching, investigators say they found fraudulent checks, blank check paper, and a printer in the home. Based on this discovery a financial crimes investigator with the UPD obtained another search warrant to "obtain items relative to these newly discovered crimes."

Hamadi Muya Photo Credit: Utica Police Department (May 2022)

According to a written release from the UPD, "the checks were found to have been purported to originate from a local (credit union) with a local automotive business as the owner of the account. Upon speaking with both the (credit union) and the business it was definitively established that the checks located were not authentic."

Police allege that fraudulent checks were written to several people in amounts that totaled more than $7,500.

The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Hamadi Muya of Utica, is facing charges related to the robbery. Those charges, stemming from the Bridgewater incident, were made by the Oneida County Sheriff's Office.

The Utica Police Department subsequently charged Muya with the following related to the discovery of the checks:

eight counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the 2nd Degree
one count of Criminal Possession of a Forgery Device

He is scheduled to answer the charges in court at a later date.

Anyone with information that might be helpful to the investigation of this case is asked to call the UPD or Mohawk Valley Crime Stoppers. Anonymous calls, e-mail, and messages may be left with Mohawk Valley Crime Stoppers by calling: 1-866-730-8477 (TIPS), by visiting www.mohawkvalleycrimestoppers.com, or by using the P3 Tips mobile app. All information received by Mohawk Valley Crime Stoppers is 100% confidential.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: This post is for informational purposes and is based largely on information received from the Utica Police Department. The reader is reminded that all suspects and arrested persons are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. At the time of this posting no additional information is available.]

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Filed Under: armed robbery, forgery, oneida county sheriff's office, utica police department

Categories: New York News, WIBX News