The Summit County Sheriff’s Office has identified most, if not all, suspects involved in a counterfeit currency operation following a standoff in Silver Creek this week.
At least five people were arrested on Tuesday afternoon after deputies were dispatched to the Bell’s Sinclair gas station. Employees observed people behaving suspiciously in the store and recognized a vehicle involved in past attempts to pass fake money, according to Chief Deputy Kacey Bates.
The clerk called the Sheriff’s Office communication line around 2 p.m. to report the situation. Deputies arrived and found an RV connected to the suspect vehicle. They gave orders to exit the camper, and a woman came out. However, one man remained inside.
Law enforcement contacted the man via telephone and began negotiating with him to exit the camper. He eventually complied after several hours. The man was arrested, but the woman was not.
Four other people were also arrested around the same time for drug offenses.
Bates said deputies asked a vehicle to move and found the occupants were connected to the ongoing case. They were charged with possession of methamphetamine and other crimes.
Deputies last month arrested a man in Coalville with counterfeit bills and a printer used to make fake money. The suspect arrested this week in Silver Creek is not the same person. However, the arrest helped connect cases across Summit County.
“Through this … we’re confident in saying we’ve identified and resisted if not all of the individuals, most of the individuals, that were connected to multiple counterfeit cases in Summit County,” Bates said.
She praised local businesses for partnering with the Sheriff’s Office to learn how to identify fake money and help prevent it from spreading.