Shaniya Jade Simmons, 19, Sadie Hiers, 22, and Shawn Vincent Brooks, 22, all of Bronx, New York, were arrested at Home Depot around 5:30 p.m. Friday and were charged with aggravated forgery, a Class B crime, after trying to pay for high-value purchases with counterfeit bills.
AUBURN — According to Auburn police, three individuals were arrested at Home Depot in Auburn on Friday night after attempting to use counterfeit money to purchase high-value items.
Shaniya Jade Simmons, 19, Sadie Hiers, 22, and Shawn Vincent Brooks, 22, all of the Bronx borough of New York City, were charged with aggravated forgery, a Class B crime, with bail set at $25,000 cash.
According to Auburn police, while at the Auburn Home Depot, the three attempted several purchases using different checkout lines. Each transaction was valued at over $1,000; only one transaction was actually approved, delaying that suspect from leaving the store and giving responding officers time to respond.
When officers arrived at Home Depot, two of the three subjects fled on foot. Jade Simmons, who was still in the store, was apprehended, and officers searched for Hiers and Brooks on foot. All three individuals were eventually arrested.
In the suspects’ car, police found merchandise suspected to have been obtained through fraud, as well as a large amount of cash believed to be counterfeit.
After their initial investigation, officers believe the three suspects had been traveling through Maine from New York, using counterfeit money to purchase items from different Home Depot locations.
Police said the trio were able to make several transactions at the Augusta Home Depot using counterfeit $100 bills to purchase $3,500 in merchandise before attempting to pass the bills at the Auburn Home Depot.
Because a significant amount of counterfeit U.S currency was involved, Auburn police said they notified the U.S. Secret Service to review the case for possible federal charges.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
