Counterfeit operation discovered at motel

Two of the suspects are from Youngstown.
BEAVER, Pa. -- Five people, including a man and a woman from Youngstown, were arraigned Saturday on charges they were making counterfeit money in a motel room.
Pennsylvania State Police discovered the counterfeit-money operation after responding to a report of a motorist pulling a gun on another motorist at Danny's Motel, 7210 Big Beaver Blvd.
Arraigned Saturday on charges were Ibrahim Saloum and Amy Velazquez, both of Youngstown; Stephane Yves Kuamba and Herve Noutcha Nana, both of Silver Spring, Md.; and Emad Shok, of New Castle, Pa.
Each faces a charge of forgery or conspiracy to commit forgery. In addition, Kuamba and Nana were arraigned on theft charges and Shok on a firearms violation.
Bond was set at $500,000 for each. They were lodged in Beaver County Jail.
Discovery
When trooper Ray Miller arrived at the hotel at 9:30 p.m., he saw two men running out of the motel room. One of the men fled on foot and the other remained in the parking lot. Someone yelled there was a weapon, Miller said.
While Miller confronted the man in the parking lot, he said two other men and a woman came running out of the same room. Miller held the four at gunpoint until backup arrived.
Miller later discovered the two men who ran from the room with the woman were armed. Shok had a loaded semiautomatic pistol in his front pocket and an unloaded Magnum revolver in his back waistband, he said. Saloum had a Magnum and ammunition in his pockets.
The man who fled on foot was later captured by officers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
In the motel room, police found gas cans, tubing, foil and other equipment used to make counterfeit money.