MDI man sought in bad-check case

ELLSWORTH – Law enforcement officials are looking for a Bass Harbor man who ran away Monday from a local business where he reportedly has passed bad checks, according to police.

Leon Jacobs, 29, had been to the Agway store on High Street twice before – once to write a $2,500 check for an outboard motor and another time to write a $300 check for a chain saw – before he appeared there again Monday to write a check for a global positioning satellite system, Officer Kelvin Mote of Ellsworth said Monday.

“As soon as he walked in the door, they called us,” Mote said of employees at the business.

Police went to the store, but Jacobs spotted the cruiser outside and ran to the Maine Coast Mall next door, where he got into a car with someone and left, Mote said.

Police were unable to find Jacobs after he fled.

Jacobs also allegedly has written checks on someone else’s closed account to EBS building supplies in Ellsworth, Mote said. Jacobs is accused of acquiring a socket wrench set, an angle grinder, a pressure washer, a cordless drill and a drill-trim saw kit – worth a total of $1,125 – from the building supply store, according to the officer.

“These are just the things we know about right now,” Mote said.

Police Lt. Harold Page said Jacobs will face criminal charges when he is caught.

“He’s been doing this for several weeks,” Page said. “He is wanted by the Ellsworth Police Department.”