Independence man with history of forgery in Las Vegas charged with same in Platte County

Charges have been filed in a 2017 incident involving an Independence, Mo., man with an extensive criminal history.

John Cavinder, 50, has been charged with felony forgery and possession of a controlled substance, with a $20,000 cash-only bond set. As of press time, Cavinder was still at large.

According to court documents, Riverside police stopped a red Dodge Durango on Jan. 9, 2017, near Argosy Casino. The driver was arrested for an active warrant out of Blue Springs, Mo., for possession of a controlled substance, but Cavinder, the passenger, had no active warrants at the time. When the vehicle was searched, methamphetamine was discovered. A further search revealed a computer case containing a computer, SD cards, thumb drives, check making materials, check books, driver’s licenses, social security cards and identification belonging to other people. Cavinder was arrested along with the driver, but refused to talk to police and was later released.

Police tracked the source of the documents and discovered the victims were mainly from the Blue Springs and Independence areas and had reported items stolen from their vehicles and mailboxes. A temporary driver’s license found in the bag with Cavinder’s photograph on it was also found to be forged. Two other forged licenses were also found. Additional forged or stolen documents were also located, along with blank checks issued by a fictitious company.

A check of Cavinder’s criminal history revealed he was convicted of felony stealing in Jackson County in 1992 as well as grand larceny in Las Vegas, Nev., also in 1992. Cavinder also faces a current felony forgery charge in Jackson County.