Four New Yorkers are accused of passing fake $100 bills and possessing drugs in New Hampshire.
Twenty-one-year-old Nicholas Partap and 18-year-old Mohenie Persaud, both of Queens, are charged with forgery and drug possession, while 19-year-old Brian Hernandez and 20-year-old Eric Ranglall, also Queens residents, face heroin possession charges. Ranglall is also charged with transporting drugs in a car and driving without a license.
According to Salem police, officers responded to the Petco on South Broadway around 4 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a woman who tried to buy something with a questionable $100 bill.
Police say when the clerk refused to sell her something, the woman, identified as Persaud, left the store. The clerk gave the officers a description that matched Persaud's, as well as the car she got into after leaving the store, Salem police said. Officers also confirmed the bill was counterfeit.
An officer found the car in the parking lot, and when he stopped it and officers started to speak with the people inside, they noticed merchandise from other stores in town.
Officers say they gained consent to search the vehicle and found receipts other stores around town, including Kohls, Michaels and Best Buy, that were for purchases made with $100 bills.
When police checked the other stores, they discovered that all of the bills used for the purchases were counterfeit.
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When Partap, Persaud, Hernandez and Ranglall were taken into custody, police discovered the drug possession.
It's unclear if they have attorneys.
