Counterfeit bills that passed for real currency at an uptown bar headline the monthly report from Athens County Crime Solvers Anonymous.
The incident occurred during the night of March 14 and into the morning of March 15. Within that timeframe, an unknown black male passed a total of five counterfeit $20 bills at The Pigskin Sports Bar & Grill, 38 N. Court St., according to the release.
The suspect is described as being 6-feet-5-inches tall and thin. Athens Police released a picture of the suspect in the J Bar, 41 N. Court St., holding numerous $20 bills.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said counterfeit bills come through town every now and then. He added that the department is aware of a claim that counterfeit bills were also received at the Dale’s BP, 50 N. Court St.
It remains to be seen whether the incident is a part of a larger scheme, Pyle said.
“Sometimes when we see this, it comes in over a period of weeks,” he said. “I’m unaware that we’ve had any more incidents. Time will tell.”
While Pyle has not seen the counterfeit bills, he has been informed that they were blatantly fake.
“You could just tell,” Pyle said. “It was quite obvious to anyone who looked that they were photocopied.”
Athens County Crime Solvers Anonymous is offering a $2,000 cash reward for information on the crime, if that information leads to an arrest of the person responsible.
Also in the monthly crime report, Crime Solvers noted, Samuel Wiater, the Athens man whose mother reported him missing this month, has still not made any known contact with authorities or his family.
“Based on conversations between Samuel and his girlfriend and Samuel and his mother, there was a suspicion that he (Samuel) was going to commit suicide in the Hocking River,” according to the release. “After police were advised of the situation, officers immediately began search efforts to locate Samuel, unfortunately with no success. As of the date of this announcement, March 27, 2014, thirteen days after the initial complaint was filed, no one has had any personal contact with Samuel.”
Lastly, the report noted “an ongoing complaint” of tagging buildings and signs “in the City of Athens and other locations within Athens County.”
Crime Solvers Anonymous is working in cooperation with the Targeting Area Graffiti Task Force to curb the tagging.
Anyone with information on these crimes are asked to call Athens County Crime Solvers Anonymous at (740)594-3331 or the Athens Police Department at (740)592-3313.
@akarl_smith
as299810@ohiou.edu
Correction: A previous edition of this article incorrectly stated the picture of the suspect was taken at the Pigskin. The picture was actually taken at the J Bar.
