***UPDATE 5-21-2013***Ruben Jose Perez was arrested yesterday in Lubbock, Texas. He was booked into the Lubbock County Jail on the forgery warrant and failure to identify. APD forgery detectives have advised that the type of bill connected to this group of forgeries has not surfaced in any recent forgeries.
Originally sent to Nixle subscribers:
In early April, APD detectives, working with agents from the United States Secret Service, started investigating reports of counterfeit ten and twenty dollar bills being passed in Amarillo. The money surfaced at a local convenience store on 4-8-13. A Hispanic male was the suspect in that event. Later that same day, officers arrested Ronald Joseph Odell WM 27 of Amarillo after he attempted to pass similar counterfeit bills at a fast food restaurant drive- through in the 1700 block of S. Ross. The 47ths District Attorney’s Office later accepted charges of forgery due to the possession of the counterfeit bills under cause 67006-Z. Similar bills surfaced when a Hispanic female made a purchase at a local fast food restaurant on 4-11-13. More bills were found on 4-19, when a male purchased tools that an individual had advertised in an internet want ad. On 4-20, officers investigated a report of people passing similar bills at a bar on W. 16th. In that incident, two men were initially questioned but were released after investigation showed they did not know the bills were counterfeits. On 4-26-13, two people tried to pass similar bills to buy prepaid phone cards at a Shell station at 1901 E. IH-40. Rosa Linda Gaona WF 24 and Noah Levy Rendon Jr. WM 21, both of Amarillo, were arrested and booked on a charge of forgery. They were seen walking away from the station and were identified as the two that tried to pass the bills. On 5-8-13, charges of forgery were accepted on Rendon under cause #67087 and on Gaona under cause #67086.
Investigators are asking for your assistance in locating a suspect charged in a offense that was reported during this investigation. He is Ruben Jose Perez HM 36, who is wanted on Randall County warrant #24297-B for forgery. This stems from the passing of counterfeit $10 bills to buy tools from the internet advertisement mentioned earlier in this release.
