Two arrests in counterfeit $50s passed at six Bend businesses
(Update: More comments from police spokesman)
A 24-year-old transient was arraigned this week on several counts of forgery and related charges, accused of passing counterfeit $50 bills at a half-dozen Bend businesses earlier this month, police said Wednesday. A Washington state woman, also arrested this month, faces similar charges, they said.
Police have taken reports since early November of fake $50 bills being passed out at several businesses, Lt. Clint Burleigh said.
According to Burleigh, the high number of fake bills is unusual for our area.
“I can tell you in my time here — its been 19, almost 20 years — it happens every once in a while, every couple years people will start passing a lot of bills,” Burleigh said. “We do get a lot of counterfeit bills passed in town, but having this type of volume of bills is not as frequent.”
Burleigh listed six victimized businesses: Regal Cinemas in the Old Mill District, the Eastside Safeway, Taco Bell on Northeast Third Street, Burger King on the city’s north side, the Arco AM/PM on Northeast Third Street and Red Carpet Car Wash in the city’s south end.
Burleigh said investigating officers worked to develop patterns from each case and were able to identify Travis Michael Nelson as a suspect.
“In general, it doesn’t take a lot to do this, so it’s not a huge piece of equipment,” Burleigh said. It could just be a basic computer. In my experience, we’ve arrested people who’ve tried to make counterfeit bills with simple scanners, simple computers.”
Nelson was contacted and arrested on Nov. 18 in the area of 300 Northwest Franklin Avenue.
At the time, Burleigh said, Nelson possessed a handgun and a suspected methamphetamine pipe. The gun was found to have been stolen in a burglary in Deschutes County, outside the city, he said.
The investigation also led officers to an address in the 61000 block of Dobbin Court, where computers and other items associated with creating counterfeit bills were found by Bend police, assisted by Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies.
Nelson was taken to the county jail and booked on seven counts of first-degree forgery, unlawful possession of a firearm and methamphetamine possession. Jail records showed he also faces first-degree burglary and theft charges, first-degree computer crime, criminal possession of a forgery device and an out-of-county warrant.
Nelson was arraigned Monday and is scheduled to enter a plea on Dec. 18. He remained held at the jail Wednesday on $45,000 bail.
Meanwhile, Logan Shelby Lundgren, 23, of Mukilteo, Washington, was arrested Nov. 9 at the Safeway East on charges of trying to pass counterfeit $50 bills, Burleigh said. She remained jailed on $10,000 bail Wednesday and is scheduled for a pre-trial release hearing Thursday and arraignment on Dec. 4.
Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel told NewsChannel 21Lundgren was dating Nelson at the time of the crimes. He said prosecutors allege Lundgren possessed counterfeit bills made by Lundgren and she pawned items she knew were stolen in a burglary that Nelson was involved in.
More charges could be filed as the investigation continues, Burleigh said.
