AURORA | A man convicted of bilking more than $500,000 from Arapahoe County residents and later absconding during his jury trial was sentenced to more than three decades in prison in Arapahoe County District Court yesterday.
Larry McGee, 61, was convicted in September of 21 counts — more than half of which were felonies — including theft, identity theft, forgery and check fraud, according to the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office.
McGee did not appear in court to hear the jury’s verdict, however, as he cut off his GPS ankle monitor — which he was ordered to wear as part of his supervised pretrial release —and fled.
Boulder police executed an arrest warrant on McGee at an Illegal Pete’s restaurant on the Pearl Street Mall Oct. 11, according to Shannon Aulabaugh, spokeswoman for the Boulder Police Department.
Aulabaugh said police responded to the area near the restaurant after receiving a 911 call from a female employee at about 3:30 p.m. regarding a suspicious person at the Hurdle’s Jewelry store across the street. The jewelry store worker told dispatchers a suspicious man was walking in and out of the store on the Pearl Street Mall and talking about spending about $30,000 on jewelry.
Upon contacting McGee, officers ran a clearance on him, discovered he had an outstanding warrant from Arapahoe County, and arrested him, according to Aulabaugh.
McGee was detained in Boulder County Jail for about a week before being transported and booked into the Arapahoe County Jail, according to Julie Brooks, spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s office.
More than four years ago, McGee reportedly impersonated a local attorney, forged letters, and produced bogus wire transfer records and deposit slips in an effort to remain a tenant at an Arapahoe County property, according to the local district attorney’s office. He was eventually charged with various counts of fraud in October 2014, but was able to delay the trial for nearly four years.
An arrest affidavit filed in McGee’s Arapahoe County case was not immediately available in a digital format, according to a Shaun Clark, district court administrator.
An Arapahoe County District Court Judge on Monday sentenced McGee to 34-and-a-half years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for his crimes, according to Vikki Migoya, spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office.