Former Gotcha Burger Employee Forrest Barrios Arrested for Alleged Payroll Check Scheme

Police arrested Forrest Jedidiah Barrios, 32, of Veneta, after an investigation into missing payroll checks at Gotcha Burger, 1702 W. Seventh Ave., in Eugene. Officers observed Barrios in the area of West 6th Avenue and Adams Street and took him into custody March 3, then transported him to the Lane County Jail.

Eugene Police Department investigators allege Barrios cashed payroll checks to himself while working at the restaurant. A detective from the Eugene Police Property and Financial Crimes Unit reviewed the case and "found probable cause" to arrest Barrios on multiple counts connected to identity theft, forgery and first-degree theft, according to police statements.

Eugene Police spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin said detectives first received a report about the matter in "early December." McLaughlin also said, "When the owner of Gotcha Burger confronted Barrios, he denied involvement and left." Police reports indicate company checks were missing from the restaurant's checkbook, prompting the property and financial crimes inquiry.

Authorities reported that Barrios was arrested on 11 counts at the time of the probable-cause arrest, with those counts described as identity theft, forgery and first-degree theft. The Lane County District Attorney's Office later filed a narrower set of formal charges: one count of first-degree theft, one count of first-degree forgery and one count of identity theft.

Barrios was arraigned March 4 in Lane County Circuit Court on forgery and identity theft charges and remained in custody at the Lane County Jail as of that date. Court scheduling shows a pre-trial conference is set for April 8 at the Lane County Courthouse.

The case remains in the early stages; the arrest, the filed charges and the April 8 pre-trial conference establish the next public milestones in the Lane County court process.