Full Notification

Incident:                      Suspect arrested for passing counterfeit currency

Report Number:          20-00227, 20-00244, 20-00245

Occurred Date :           January 15^th and 16th, 2020

Occurred Time:           Early morning hours

Location:                     Petaluma

Suspect:                      Amber R. Cook, 41-year-old, Somerset, California resident

Incident Summary:

On January 15^th at 4:17 AM, a suspect matching the description of Suspect Cook, purchased a $400 prepaid Visa gift card with counterfeit $100 bills at the Safeway store on South McDowell Blvd.  On January 16^th at 2:06 AM, a suspect purchased a $500 prepaid Visa gift card with counterfeit $100 bills at the same store.  A store employee was able to get a vehicle description and direction of travel of the suspect vehicle.  A police officer responding to the area located the vehicle and stopped it.   A store employee identified Suspect Cook as the suspect who passed the counterfeit bills. Suspect Cook was arrested and booked at Sonoma County Jail.  During the booking process suspected narcotics were found concealed in her bra.  Also, on January 15^th at 4:31 AM, a CVS store within a ½ mile of the Safeway reported a female attempted to pass a counterfeit $100 bill to purchase items.  Petaluma Police are also working with Marin County Sheriff’s Office, who had a similar case at the Safeway in Mill Valley on January 10^th, where $2400 in counterfeit currency was passed.   If anyone had any similar incidents, please contact the Petaluma Police Department at 707-778-4372.