"Mr. Check" Took Three Months To Die

Man dies nearly 3 months after shooting
August 21, 2007

The Associated Press

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) —A man shot three times while cashing checks from his car died nearly three months after the shooting, Spartanburg County deputies said.

Juan Carlos Vivoda died Monday at the hospital where he had been since being shot in the head, neck and lower back on May 31, authorities said.

Vivoda, 59, ran a business he called “Mr. Check,” cashing checks from his car which he parked at a plastics plant, said Robin Forrest, an investigator with the coroner’s office.

Police have charged Franciso Jadier Martinez, 21, and Norberto Ruis Cruz, 19, with assault and battery with intent to kill and armed robbery. Martinez has been arrested, while Cruz is still at large.

Investigators are waiting for autopsy results to determine if the gunshots were the primary cause of Vivoda’s death before talking to prosecutors about whether to upgrade the charges against the men, sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Dan Johnson said.