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Charges add up for inmate after $100 bills prove fake
YOUNGSTOWN
The five counterfeit $100 bills a man allegedly carried on him compounded his legal troubles when he was booked into Mahoning County jail.
Christopher Brooks, 25, of Oak Street Extension, was booked into the lockup Dec. 2 after city police arrested him on a warrant on charges of receiving stolen property and possessing criminal tools, both felonies.
When an inmate arrives at the jail, deputy sheriffs routinely take whatever money he has on him and put it into his commissary account, refunding any unspent money to him when he leaves the jail, said Alki Santamas, jail director.
By arriving at the jail with the reported counterfeit bills and turning them over to deputies, Brooks got himself into even more trouble in the form of a county grand-jury indictment on money-laundering and forgery charges.
“Don’t be involved in counterfeiting, especially if you’re going to jail,” warned Sheriff Randall A. Wellington.
The money-laundering charge, which carries a possible one to five years in prison on conviction, alleges Brooks knowingly conducted a transaction to promote corrupt activity.
The forgery charge, which carries a possible six- to 12-month prison term, alleges he knowingly passed counterfeit currency.
The charge of receiving stolen property carries a potential six to 18 months in prison, and possessing criminal tools carries a possible six to 12 months of incarceration.
Court records show Brooks was released from the jail on electronically monitored house arrest Dec. 13.
But his release ended after the holidays when he appeared in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and was arrested there on the two additional felony charges related to the counterfeit bills.
Brooks lost his short-lived freedom when Magistrate Timothy G. Welsh set no bond for him at his Tuesday morning arraignment and deferred the matter of bond to Judge James C. Evans, to whom the case is assigned.
Brooks will remain jailed unless or until Judge Evans sets a bond for him. As of late Tuesday afternoon, Judge Evans had not acted on the matter.
As for possible federal counterfeit-bill charges, Santamas said deputies discussed the matter with the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates counterfeiting.
“They recommended we just pursue it ourselves,” Santamas said of the federal agents.
“I’m sure it’s because of their workload,” the sheriff said, referring to the Secret Service’s recommendation that state charges be pursued, instead of federal charges.