Forged typo-filled letter only gets inmate into more trouble

BARTOW (FOX 13) - Two ex-cons tried to use the Polk County Sheriff's office to scam a local business, but it didn't work.

When Marco Sullivan was arrested in Lakeland on an outstanding warrant from Orange County, he didn't want his employer to know, so he asked his girlfriend, Martisha Wilson to try and cover it up for him.

At first, she told his boss that he had the flu and would be back in a few days. But after Sullivan went to court, he realized he was going to be behind bars longer than he thought. So he hatched a plan.

He told Wilson to download a Polk Sheriff's Office letterhead. Sullivan told her to write a letter saying that he was on a special mission with the ATF Division of the Polk Sheriff's Office.

But the letter had red flags from beginning to end.

"There is one thing for sure," said Polk Sheriff Grady Judd. "We'll never use Martisha as a secretary at the sheriff's office."

The letter was written entirely in capital letters. Then there were the spelling mistakes.

"He'll be on the unit for 6 months or less," Judd read from the letter. "Do (sic) to the severity of the case, I am not able to enclosed (sic), E-N-C-L-O-S-E-D, no farther (sic), F-A-R-T-H-E-R, information," Judd read, spelling out some of the misspelled words.

Judd also pointed out the Polk Sheriff's Office doesn't have an ATF Division and the signature on the letter was Mike Singleton. There is no person employed at the sheriff's office by that name.

When someone at Reddy read the letter, they knew something was wrong, called investigators.

Sullivan remains in custody. Detectives have yet to locate Wilson. There is a Polk County warrant for her arrest for criminal use of personal identification. She is believed to be in the Orlando area and is described as 5-foot-4 and 150 pounds. The Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact them at 863-298-6200.