Police: Nashville woman busted at Ashland City Walmart with counterfeit money
by: Andy Cordan
Posted: May 14, 2019 / 09:22 PM CDT / Updated: May 14, 2019 / 11:19 PM CDT
ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (WKRN) – Ashland City police busted a Nashville woman allegedly trying to pass a thousand of dollars' worth of funny money.
The cops were tipped off by alert clerks at the Ashland City Walmart.
It happened on the afternoon of May 10, as ACPD chased the woman briefly and then made a traffic stop.
The car was driven by counterfeiting suspect, Laketa Simpson
According to detective Bill Powers, the 25-year-old was identified by clerks.
Detective Powers arrived and pursued her on foot in the parking lot, but the Nashville woman was able to get to her car.
She reportedly pulled rapidly out of the Walmart parking lot after just passing four fake hundreds at the Ashland City Walmart
Powers spotted her leaving and radioed for traffic cars to intercept. He says the hundreds looked authentic, but the serial numbers are all the same and when held to the light, the watermarks of the Presidents didn't match. The paper is also not evenly cut.
The detective says the four hundred-dollar bills seized Friday match six counterfeit hundreds Simpson passed at the same Walmart just 10 days earlier.
"She told us that she got them from a man out of Nashville, she gets the bills from him and he gets a 50 percent return on what she purchases with them," said Detective Powers.
The Simpson case isn't large enough for the secret service to take notice.
"The breaking point for the secret service is $5,000," said the detective.
Powers told News 2 other police agencies, from Hopkinsville and Oak Grove, Ky, are very interested in Simpson as a suspect in their unsolved cases.
"She has or other people have been entertaining the same bills and taking them to different stores and what not, we are following up with other agencies," said Powers.
Simpson was arrested on two felonies for criminal simulation.
According to the TBI, prior to the counterfeiting arrest, Laketa Simpson had only been charged with unlawful removal of a license plate decal and making non-emergency calls.
News 2 is tracking crime where you live with CrimeTracker reports. Click here for more coverage.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) - Franklin police say five teens were arrested on Saturday morning after an officer interrupted a series of in-progress auto burglaries.
It happened around 3:30 a.m. at Sussex Downs on Magnolia Drive. According to a release, while checking the area, the officer noticed a person running from the area.
Shooting investigation underway after man shot in Goodlettsville
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Police are investigating after a man was shot at an apartment complex in Goodlettsville Sunday night.
The shooting happened at a complex on Robert Cartwright Drive around 8:30 p.m.
1 shot at North Nashville apartment complex
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) -- A man is recovering from injuries and police are searching for a suspect after a shooting last night in North Nashville.
The incident happened at an apartment complex on the 2400 block of Buena Vista Pike.