Police: Ex-Con Forces 87-Year-Old Grandmother To Sign Check So He Can Buy Drugs

MURRIETA (CBS) — An ex-con accused of forcing his 87-year-old grandmother to write a check so he could buy drugs was arraigned Wednesday on robbery charges.

Tyler James Wedge, 25, faces more than 15 years in prison if convicted on the robbery count, burglary, receiving stolen property, two counts of possession of illegal narcotics and one count of selling illegal drugs.

Murrieta police arrested Wedge, of Wildomar, on Jan. 17 after his grandmother reported he had forced her to give him money.

Wedge was visiting his grandmother when he took her checkbook, drafted a check to himself and forced her to sign it, Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad said.

After the woman filed her report, officers searched Wedge's home and found "a considerable amount of prescription drugs."

"Further investigation revealed those controlled substances were in Mr. Wedge's possession for the purpose of illegal sales," Conrad said.

Wedge has a prior conviction for fraud, for which he served a year in prison, according to court records.

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