People v. Hawkins

Defendant Galen Hawkins appeals as of right his conviction of uttering and publishing 1 for cashing a stolen cashier’s check. The trial court, following a bench trial, sentenced Hawkins as a fourth-offense habitual offender 2 to a prison term of 2 1/2 to 20 years. We affirm.

I. BASIC FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The prosecutor and Hawkins had conflicting theories of this case. From the prosecutor’s perspective, Hawkins uttered and published a false, forged, altered, or counterfeited check dated April 22, 1998, in the amount of $9,500. Hawkins conceded that he presented an Old Kent Bank…