Cynthia Elizabeth Franklin, 67, was arrested Thursday in Apple Valley on allegations that she used an 86-year-old woman's bank account to issue unauthorized checks, while also facing a separate allegation involving methamphetamine sales. Robert Lee Wilson, 58, was arrested with her at about 6:40 p.m. at a home in the 11500 block of Winifred Drive, according to sheriff officials and jail records.
San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies assigned to the Apple Valley Police Station first went to the Winifred Drive address at 2:39 p.m. after a report of financial crime, according to VVNG. The reported victim was described by the Victorville Daily Press as an 86-year-old Apple Valley woman with cognitive disabilities who was known to Franklin.
Investigators allege Franklin wrote checks from the woman's account without authorization and signed the victim's name, with the checks made payable to Wilson, according to the Daily Press. Franklin was booked on suspicion of theft from an elderly or dependent victim, forgery, possession of bad checks, possession of methamphetamine for sale and criminal conspiracy. Wilson faces allegations of theft from an elderly victim, forgery, possession of bad checks and criminal conspiracy. Authorities have not disclosed the amount allegedly taken.
Search Warrant Turns Up Drug Evidence
Investigators said a search warrant produced evidence connected to the checks as well as evidence consistent with methamphetamine possession and sales, the Daily Press reported. Franklin was booked into the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto and held in lieu of $40,000 bail. Wilson's bail was set at $70,000, and jail records showed an outstanding felony warrant in a separate vandalism case. The High Desert Detention Center is operated by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
How to report suspected elder financial abuse
According to the San Bernardino County Department of Aging and Adult Services – Public Guardian, Adult Protective Services assists older adults and adults with disabilities who may be facing abuse, neglect or exploitation, including financial exploitation. The county identifies a 24-hour reporting hotline at (877) 565-2020. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says suspected elder financial abuse should be reported to Adult Protective Services or local law enforcement and defines it as taking or misusing another person's money or property for someone else's benefit. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office lists unpaid bills, forged signatures on checks and misuse of electronic-benefit cards among warning signs of possible elder financial abuse. Those indicators are general guidance and do not establish that a crime occurred in this case; the allegations against Franklin and Wilson remain pending.
Wilson was assigned bail of $70,000 and had an outstanding felony warrant tied to a separate vandalism case in addition to the new financial theft and forgery allegations. Apple Valley does not maintain its own police department; municipal law enforcement is provided through a contract with the county sheriff's department, which operates out of the Apple Valley Police Station, as Hoodline previously reported.
A Fatal Crash Still Working Through the Courts
Franklin is also awaiting trial on a gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated charge stemming from a March 2024 crash in Spring Valley Lake. The California Highway Patrol determined she had been drinking before her 2015 Chrysler struck and killed 39-year-old Nicholas Antoni Slate, of Victorville, as he walked along Kalin Ranch Road shortly after 1 a.m. on March 10, 2024, according to the Daily Press.
The Chrysler left the roadway near Golf Course Drive before striking Slate and a concrete wall, according to details published by JT Legal Group. Slate was pronounced dead at the scene, the Daily Press reported. Franklin suffered moderate injuries, was initially released with a citation, and later pleaded not guilty after the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office filed the charge in May 2024.
What the New Charges Could Mean
The gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated charge Franklin already faces carries a potential state prison sentence of 4, 6, or 10 years upon conviction under California Penal Code Section 191.5(a), according to the Shouse Law Group. The new elder financial abuse allegation adds separate exposure: under Penal Code Section 368(d), elder financial abuse involving losses exceeding $950 is a felony punishable by up to 2, 3, or 4 years in state prison, per the Shouse Law Group.
The methamphetamine possession-for-sale charge under Health and Safety Code Section 11378 carries its own penalty range of 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in county jail or prison, and makes defendants ineligible for court-ordered drug diversion programs, according to the Shouse Law Group. The pending manslaughter case and the newly reported theft, forgery, and drug allegations are both described in the accounts involving Franklin.
