HADLEY — A Florida woman who allegedly passed a fraudulent check valued at almost $2,000 at a Hadley bank Tuesday afternoon was arrested in Easthampton after a vehicle she was riding in crashed into a pickup, according to police in both communities.
Gwen Schoewe, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested at about 4 p.m. by Easthampton Police on Hadley Police charges of larceny by check over $1,200, identity fraud and attempting to commit a crime, said Hadley Police Chief Michael Mason.
The charges stem from an incident that began in Hadley at 3:05 p.m. in which Schoewe was in the drive-thru teller lane at Easthampton Savings Bank, 100 East St., and successfully passed a bad check for $1,940, Mason said.
Schoewe then attempted to pass a second fraudulent check of $1,400 at the same bank, was denied by the teller, and bank management then called police, Mason said. At that time, she fled in a vehicle.
After an alert was issued to other departments in the region, Easthampton Police encountered Schoewe and her vehicle on Pleasant Street in that city. But as detectives approached, she got into a black SUV with another person, which fled the scene at a high rate of speed, passing vehicles and operating to endanger, according to the department.
The SUV, following a brief pursuit by officers, crashed into a pickup at the intersection of Loudville Road and West Street, with the driver attempting to flee on foot and engaging in a brief struggle with police officers.
The driver and Schoewe were both placed under arrest at the scene and transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the pickup also required medical attention at a hospital for minor injuries.
Easthampton Police Sgt. Chad Alexander said the driver’s identity and details about the criminal charges were not yet being released by his department.
“There is still an investigation ongoing and we will put out more information as it becomes available,” Alexander said.
Mason said Schoewe has active warrants for fraudulent check-passing activity in other states and is suspected of similar crimes in Massachusetts that remain under investigation.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.