Suspect arrested in Patterson counterfeit money case

Patterson Police Services detectives arrested a woman Thursday on suspicion of passing counterfeit $100 bills in Patterson in January.

Kristy Freeman was taken into custody at a home on Jetty Drive in Stockton, where detectives served a search warrant, said Patterson police Chief Jeff Dirkse. A warrant also was served at a Patterson home. In the homes, “we found some evidence that supports our case,” the chief said, but nothing like counterfeit bills or printing equipment.

Freeman, 26, was booked at the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center.

Through news reports and social media postings, including surveillance photos of two women and a man sought in the counterfeiting case, members of the public identified two suspects, Dirkse said. The second suspect has not been arrested.

On Jan. 25, two women used counterfeit bills to purchase nearly $4,000 in MasterCard and Visa gift cards at the Walmart at Sperry and Las Palmas avenues, officials said. The next day, the women, apparently joined by a man, tried to pass a single phony $100 bill at a Subway shop in Patterson. Later that day, a single bill was passed at a McDonald’s near the Walmart.

A red four-door sedan is associated with the Walmart and McDonald’s incidents, police said.

The investigation began when the counterfeit money was brought to the attention of Walmart security staff.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 9:41 AM with the headline "Suspect arrested in Patterson counterfeit money case."