Guzman, charged with claiming upon a forged document, an Atlantic Bank cheque for $193.00 which he changed to $793.00 changed his plea from not guilty to guilty when he appeared yesterday in the court of Justice Adolph Lucas.

Because he had no previous conviction and he saved the court time by pleading guilty, Justice Lucas fined him three thousand dollars and ordered him to pay forthwith, in default one year imprisonment. Guzman was unable to pay the fine so he was taken to prison.

Guzman worked for Matus and Matus Consultants Limited, a construction firm located at mile 2 on the Northern Highway from March 9 to March 20, 2009.

He was paid with a cheque for $193.00 on March 20 when he quit. On April 21, 2009 he went to Williams Supermarket in King's Park and bought some grocery items. He paid for them with the cheque on which he altered the amount from $193.00 to $793.00.

The items came up to between twenty and thirty dollars and Guzman was given change as the difference between the cash and the amount on the cheque. When the cheque bounced Nigel Matus reported it to the police and Guzman was arrested and charged.

In his plea for mitigation Guzman said he altered the amount on the cheque and cashed it because he had a woman with two children and he had to pay rent, buy groceries and pay utility bills. Guzman wasn't represented by an attorney.