Man Arrested After Real $50 Bill Was Reported as Fake
A man in Tennessee has been arrested after police mistakenly thought that he was using counterfeit money to pay for goods.
Lorenzo Gaspar was trying to pay for his items at a local convenience store when local police were alerted that there was a man using a counterfeit $50 bill by an employee.
The bill however was just an old note, but police did not confirm this until the man had already been arrested and put in jail.
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Local media reported that a clerk working at a Quik Mart contacted police after the marker used to detect counterfeit bills did not mark the bill indicating that is was real and legal tender.
"The front side of the bill was off center and it didn't feel like a normal bill, it did look to be counterfeit," officer Brock Horner of the Shelbyville police department stated.
After Gaspar was put in jail Horner showed the bill to fellow officer Sgt. Bill Logue, the Shelbyville Police Department's evidence technician, who explained that older bills could not be verified using the marker unlike newer bills. Logue suggested to Horner that he should take the bill to a bank to have it verified.
Horner took the bill to two local banks where employees at one bank determined that the bill was indeed "real but very old."
Another bank was able to determine that the note was legal tender by using a black light and magnifying glass to determine the note's authenticity.
Upon receiving verification of the legal note a judicial commissioner released Gaspar from jail. Reports indicate that Horner apologized for the arrest, but that he also suggested to Gasper that he should take the bill to a bank and have it exchanged for a newer one.
Gaspar could not be reached for comment.
