MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Police said they have two new counterfeiting cases on their hands – a $20 and a $50 passed off at a fast food restaurant and a clothing store.
While police spent the week tracking down leads on those cases, they said it's part of a trend that’s partially due to Murfreesboro's location.
The first case happened at a Sonic on Middle Tennessee Boulevard early Saturday when someone tried paying for their food with a fake $20 bill.
The waitress caught him though, but the police said the customer left after he paid.
The second case happened just hours later at the Citi Trends store on Mercury Boulevard when someone tried paying for their purchase with a fake $50 bill.
That person, who police identified as Gary Graves, was arrested on an existing warrant of aggravated domestic assault.
Sergeant Kyle Evans with the Murfreesboro Police Department said the city of Murfreesboro has been a prime location to pass off counterfeit bills because of how close it is to the interstate and the number of restaurants and bars nearby.
“We get complacent,” Sergeant Evans said. “We just look at the money and take it really quickly, especially in the low light, high stress environment such as a restaurant late at night. You just don't always pay much attention.”
Police said if you handle money you need to make sure it looks right and feels right before spending it.
They added you should hold on to the money if you think it might be counterfeit and call the police.
Police said with people keeping a close watch on their money, they can and do catch the thieves who try to pass off a fake buck.
While police said they made an arrest in the Citi Trends counterfeit case, they haven't in the one involving Sonic.
