One of the men arrested in connection with a counterfeit operation gave store clerks his driver’s license when trying to pass fake $100 bills, documents said.
On Thursday, the Tucson Police Department released documents detailing an investigation that led to the arrest of three people last week.
From October 2015 through February, Cody Anderson, Joshua Blake and a third man spent or tried to spend the money on 14 different occasions, according to the documents.
Police learned the suspects were using the bills at Target, PetSmart, Circle K and Quik Mart, and continuously returned to the same stores.
Anderson spent or tried to spend the money eight times and Blake five times. The third man, tried on one occasion.
The stores provided police with the bills and security videos from the suspects’ shopping trips, and witnesses were able to provide a description of a car used by one of the suspects, according to the documents.
Police collaborated with the U.S. Secret Service and learned that Anderson gave his driver’s license to store clerks at least twice when he was attempting to pass the counterfeit bills.
Last month Anderson drew a gun when a store clerk refused to accept a bill, documents say.
On Feb. 15, Blake got into an argument with a Quik Mart customer when he was trying to spend the fake money and pointed a gun at a customer. He was seen leaving the scene in his vehicle.
When police executed a warrant at the suspects’ residence a few days later, they found 10 firearms, ammunition, drugs and paraphernalia, the documents say.
Anderson and Blake were arrested without incident and booked into the Pima County jail on multiple charges. It’s unclear if the third man named in documents was arrested.
The investigation led to Krista Blanchard, the woman police suspected of making the fake money. Police seized various rifles and handguns, printers, scanners, washed money and a currency “counterfeit manufacturing kit.”
Blanchard was also arrested without incident and is facing charges related to the manufacturing of counterfeit money.
Police say they have reason to believe that bills were passed outside of Tucson city limits, but are confident that the local printing operation is shut down.
