BEDFORD – A Bedford woman was arrested Wednesday after investigators claim she helped her son provide forged medical doctor’s excuses to his employer.
Police arrested Kayla Blackshear, 41, on charges of counterfeiting and forgery. Her son, 19-year-old Gavin Blackshear, is also charged with the crime.
According to Bedford Police Department Detective Max Uebelhoer, on February 5, 2024. Officer Taylor Daughterty was requested to IU Health Bedford Hospital to a physician’s office. The doctor had received a fax from a Springville company about Gaven Blackshear. The employer said Gavin Blackshear had a letter with the doctor’s letterhead excusing him from work on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 about his cold and flu symptoms. The employer wanted the doctor to confirm that his office sent the letter.
The doctor told Officer Daughterty he did not authorize this patient to have time off and
advised him that he had not seen Gavin Blackshear in over a year. The doctor confirmed the signature on the bottom of the letterhead was not his.
Gavin Blackshear’s employee told police he had missed several days of work, and per company policy, they required him to provide documentation as to why he was missing work. Gavin Blackshear provided human resources with the letterhead. Human resources then contacted IU Health for the letter’s authenticity because it seemed out of the ordinary from the sick notes she usually processes. Human resources also confirmed that Gavin Blackshear had turned in a similar note in December 2023 signed by another doctor at IU Health.
Detective Uebelhoer spoke to Gavin Blackshear by phone on Feb. 2, 2024. He told police he had been in the emergency room and got the note from there. When asked why a note from this doctor would have been submitted to his employer, Gavin Blackshear said he was not sure. He later admitted he was sick and did not have insurance, so he had his mother, Kayla Blackshear, make him a forged doctor’s note. He also revealed that his mother had also forged the note from December.
On Feb. 8, Detective Major Kye Louden and Detective Uebelhoer spoke to Kayla Blackshear. When the detectives showed her the note, she refused to talk to the detectives.
The information was forwarded to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office, and a warrant was issued for both arrests.
