Three out-of-towners found out that spending fake money in Indianola can lead to some real jail time.
According to Sgt. Irish Johnson, city police arrested one woman and two men in conjunction with a rash of counterfeit $100 bills that showed up in the tills of area merchants.
Vanessa LaShan Ricks 29, 131110 South Corliss, Riverdale, Illinois, Maurice Reddick 26, 7824 South Winchester, Chicago and Timothy Gates 28, 711 Hatley, Cleveland were arrested on Thursday after police received a call from Planters Bank and Trust about four $100 bills with the same serial numbers from a bank in New York.
The bills came from four different merchants along the U.S. 82 corridor. So, investigators reviewed the video surveillance footage from each and came up with one suspect.
Later that afternoon another person showed up at Turner’s Downtown Market with a counterfeit bill and the police were able to get a good clear image and determine that the suspects had been using a local cab company to transport them to and from the businesses to make their transactions.
When police contacted the company they were told that the suspects had just called for a pick up from the Best Value Inn. Police secured a search warrant for their room and found an assortment of cigarettes, clothing and personal hygiene items and over $2,000 in cash and coins.
The cash was the change they received back after making their purchases with the counterfeit paper, Johnson said.
In addition to the items found, Ricks was also allegedly smoking marijuana and more of the green leafy substance was found in the room. She had $1,073 of the cash on her and Reddick had the remaining $994.91. Ricks was only charged with simple possession and has since bonded out.
Gates didn’t have any cash on him. He and Reddick were still in the county jail as of press time and charged with counterfeiting and possession of marijuana. Reddick is also charged with failure to comply with an officer.
The case is still under investigation but Gates is the only one of the suspects who said he has ties to the area. He claims to have been in town for a family reunion, although police have not affirmed that allegation.
