Counterfeiters pass fake bills three times

Sharp-eyed Sonic employee spots funny money, others discovered at Dollar General in Peabody

By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Counterfeiters hit Marion County last week on multiple occasions, passing fake bills in Hillsboro and Peabody.

“I’ve been doing this 36 years and that’s the way it’s always been,” said Hillsboro police chief Dan Kinning. “You have down-time to catch up, and then it seems like it runs in spurts where you can’t keep up.”

Two attempts were made to use fake bills at Sonic Drive-in in Hillsboro. The first incident occurred Thursday evening, when someone paid using two counterfeit bills, according to police reports.

A second attempt was made to pay for a meal with a counterfeit bill Friday, which this time was caught by a Sonic employee, Kinning.

Counterfeit bills are usually caught by banks instead of store employees because the employees often don’t have enough time to follow up, he said.

“It’s not that likely,” he said. “Every once in a while they do, but most of the time they’re just in a hurry.”

Another incident was reported Friday, when a fake $5 bill was used at Dollar General in Peabody.

“I talked to Peabody police chief Bruce Burke and these two are definitely connected,” Kinning said. “They were the same person.”

While two of the counterfeits were $5 bills, $20 bills are more frequently used by counterfeiters, he said.