Three men are in custody after attempting to cash fraudulent payroll checks at US Bank Austin.

A teller at the bank alertly observed the fraudulent checks when four individuals attempted to cash the checks Friday.

The foursome were also caught on the bank's video surveillance tape.

According to an Austin Police Department report, the vehicle containing three of the individuals was stopped later Friday in traffic and the trio taken into custody.

One 19-year-old man was sent to the Many Rivers Juvenile Detention Center at Rochester. The other two remain in the Mower County Jail, pending a district court appearance.

All three face felony charges for the incident. The amounts on the payroll checks were near $360 each.

The three individuals also had fraudulent identification badges showing them as employees of the same employer on which the payroll checks were drawn.

One of the suspects told investigators he had been in Austin for only a week and purchased the false ID for $30, according to the police report.

Also Friday night, a man attempted to cash another fraudulent payroll check at Cash Wise Foods.

A clerk intercepted the transaction and the man left the store.

Car is total loss

Dean Michael Anderson, 28 of Austin, was driven along East Oakland Avenue Sunday morning.

Anderson told an Austin Police Department officer, he noticed flames coming from beneath the dashboard of his 1996 Ford Escort.

Anderson stopped the car in traffic. When the Austin Fire Department arrived at the scene, the care was determined to be a total loss.

The car fire occurred 9:03 a.m. Sunday, according to the police report.