Two Guilford County men accused of passing a string of counterfeit checks at a local grocery store and taking property from several area businesses pleaded guilty Wednesday in Caldwell County Superior Court.

Michael Antwan Cheek and Monoletia Rahmon Davis pleaded guilty to six counts of felony forgery by bill of information and one felony count of obtaining property by false pretenses. Both men received 36 months supervised probation, including six months intensive probation.

While on intensive probation, Cheek and Davis will be required to abide by the curfew their probation officer set and perform 50 hours of community service. Once the men are transferred to regular supervised probation, they will be required to perform an additional 72 hours of community service within 90 days.

On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Beverly Beal ordered Cheek and Davis to complete formal assessments within the next month and to finish any necessary treatments. Beal also told Cheek to undergo substance abuse treatment and for Davis to seek counseling. In addition, neither man is allowed to visit the Food Lion in Hudson.

If Cheek or Davis violate any part of their probationary sentence, they could spend between eight and 12 months behind bars, Beal said.

The charges against Cheek and Davis stem from April 8, 2009. Assistant District Attorney Lori Goins said that officers with the Hudson Police Department responded to the Food Lion, located at 115 Maxway Village, Hudson, that April day when the cashier noticed that the counterfeit check the men were trying to cash looked similar to other checks already passed through the system.

Goins said when officers arrived, they compared the checks and linked a string of them to Cheek and Davis. When officers later searched the vehicle, they found an envelope full of checks with different driver's licenses and bags full of items from Toys R Us and other area businesses. Goins said personnel at Toys R Us identified Cheek and Davis as the men who took the property.

Although Beal did not order the men to pay any restitution, Cheek and Davis will be required to pay a community service fee, probationary fee and attorney's fees on a monthly schedule.

Second-degree arson suspect receives probationary sentence

Judge Beal sentenced a Lenoir woman to five years of supervised probation after she pleaded guilty to arson Wednesday.

Lisa Absher, a local hair salon owner, will spend the next 60 months on supervised probation for pleading guilty to second-degree arson and felony breaking and entering. She will be required to perform 96 hours of community service within 180 days, and she is to have no alcohol. Absher has been ordered to pay $10,500 in damages caused to the home, as well as other court costs and fees on a regular schedule.

While in court Wednesday, Absher told Beal that she regrets what she did and has since sought medical care.

"I'm so sorry for everything I did," she said in a quiet tone. "It was a very emotional and stressful time in my life. I'm so sorry."

While giving her summary of the incident, Goins said neighbors reported they saw Absher kick in the back door of a home on Celia Creek Road on Jan. 26, 2009. Goins said moments later, the home caught fire, Crews responded to the scene, and an investigation was started by the Caldwell County Fire Marshal's Office.

T.J. Rohr, defense attorney, said Absher admitted to breaking in the home, kicking over a television and lighting a sock on fire. But, he said the fire was out when Absher left.

"Your honor, I think this is an emotional case," Rohr said Wednesday. "My client appears to have a drinking problem, but she is working on that. I would ask that you consider using the two days she spent in custody as the intermediate part of her sentence."

If Absher violates any portion of her probationary sentence, she will be sent to prison for 12 to 15 months. The maximum punishment for her charges is 79 months in prison.