Sav-A-Center cashier Gennifer Robinson said it didn’t take any real detective work to spot that a check given to her April 23 to pay for groceries was a forgery.

She immediately recognized the distinctive Looney Tunes background from her own checkbook, which had been stolen from her car along with her purse five days earlier.

And there was one more fairly strong hint: “She handed me my own driver’s license,” said Robinson, 20, who now laughs when she shares the story with friends, though she admits it wasn’t so funny at the time.

Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested Ashlie Williams, 20, of 2026 Tupelo St., New Orleans. She was booked with seven counts of fraud under $500, forgery and illegal possession of things less than $300, according to arrest reports. She was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on April 23 on a personal surety bond.

Robinson’s car had been broken into and her purse stolen April 18 while she was visiting a friend in Metairie, she said. As of Wednesday afternoon, Williams had not been booked with any charges related to the theft.

Robinson, who works at the Sav-A-Center at 2900 Veterans Memorial Blvd. in Metairie, said she had just finished a break and Williams was her first customer.

Though her purse had four different forms of picture identification, Williams apparently didn’t look too carefully, Robinson said. “I still don’t know how she didn’t realize it was me.”

When Williams first wrote the check for $259.17, Robinson said she recognized the brown checkbook and Looney Tunes watermark. Her suspicions were confirmed when Williams handed over her own driver’s license.

Robinson said she stayed calm and told Williams that she had to get a signature from her manager. She left Williams waiting at the register until authorities arrived.

Deputies searched Williams and found Louisiana driver’s licenses and identification cards for five other women as well as several credit cards, reports said. Detectives will investigate to determine if any other charges should be filed.

Robinson said the arrest has been the talk of the store.

“Every day I come to work, people are cracking jokes, saying, ‘Gennifer, write me a check.’ ”

Story Courtesy of Michelle Hunter and The Times Picayune