Three suspects who allegedly tried to go on a Connecticut shopping spree were caught more than $1,100 in counterfeit bills, state police said.
The case unfolded Monday at 2 p.m. when detectives assigned to the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Special Investigations and the Waterbury Police Department conducted a “proactive operation in the area of Union Street in Waterbury,” and observed that they described as “suspicious activity involving two vehicles in the parking lot of a retail establishment.”
Then, with help from store employees, detectives “learned that two individuals associated with the suspicious vehicles had (allegedly) purchased at least $840 in merchandise at the retail establishment using counterfeit money,” state police said.
“Detectives followed both vehicles and observed individuals associated with the vehicles making attempts to use counterfeit currency at two additional retail locations, on Wolcott Street and Bank Street in Waterbury,” state police said.
State police said the three suspects were detained in the parking area of the third retail establishment, and were identified as Lemuel Gravesande, 26, of Brooklyn, New York; Alisa Mingo, 29, also of Brooklyn, New York; and Anthony Roberts, 31, of Waterbury.
State police said detectives also allegedly located $1,100 in counterfeit $20 bills in the suspects’ possession “along with other items, including receipts for the purchases made at the first retail location.”
“Based upon the information obtained and evidence observed during the on-scene investigation, all three individuals were taken into custody and transported to Troop A in Southbury, where they were processed and charged,” state police said.
Gravesande, Mingo and Roberts are charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit forgery and fifth-degree conspiracy to commit larceny, state police said.
Gravesande and Roberts are free on a $50,000 bonds and are scheduled for arraignment at Waterbury Superior Court on Oct. 1. Mingo was held on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 10 at Waterbury Superior Court.
