$16,800 in fake bills found outside Lincoln in latest counterfeit case
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Deputies sniffed out thousands of dollars in counterfeit bills Thursday after smelling marijuana during a traffic stop.
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said the car was pulled over for an improper lane change and following too closely.
Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said during a probable cause search, deputies found 6.5 grams of marijuana and $16,800 in fake $100 bills.
“Here’s an example of our criminal interdiction unit helping us in our community out there,” he said.
Authorities also found a receipt from the Walgreens on 14th and Superior streets, where a soda and some soap had been purchased.
Houchin said one of the occupants, Deonta Minor, had used a counterfeit 100 to pay for the items and got back about $93 in real money.
Minor, Curtis Whitfield and Michael Dyre — all men in their 20s from Michigan — were arrested.
Minor was arrested on suspicion of forgery, while the other two were arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting.
The sheriff’s office said the group also had several $100 prepaid credit cards and over $3,200 in real cash, which authorities suspect were acquired through counterfeit money.
“We believe they go to one town, hit it for a little bit and then go down the interstate,” Houchin said. “They’re not from here, so no one would be able to identify them.”
Earlier this week, police shared photos of a man and a woman who used counterfeit $100 bills at the Walmart at 27th and Superior streets.
The two bought a DVD player, a king-size candy bar, Lipton tea, and two box sets of “Gunsmoke” on DVD.
Jared Minary with the Lincoln Police Department’s Crimestoppers said clerks are usually pretty adept at noticing fake bills, but these ones made it through.
“They were all a copy of the exact same bill, so they all had the same serial number,” he said. “They ended up finding it later and realized that it was actually a counterfeit bill.”
The bills seized on Thursday also had repeated serial numbers.
Authorities are looking into whether the two cases are connected.
