Essex County Residents Charged With Using Counterfeit $100 Bills in Connecticut

(REBECCA CARNES contributed to this report)

Two Essex County residents and one Brooklyn, New York, man were arrested in Connecticut for using counterfeit $100 bills at a Walgreens location.

According to a report from the Newtown Patch, Michael Labeach, 26, of Orange, and Dnell Fairman-Campbell, 19, of Brooklyn, New York, were charged with fifth-degree larceny and first-degree forgery. One woman, Jheanelle Blake, 22, of Orange, was charged with one count of conspiracy and fifth-degree larceny.

Labeach and Fairman-Campbell were arrested Saturday night, May 9, after they each purchased hundreds of dollars in gift cards with the false $100 bills at a Walgreens, located at 49 South Main St. in Newtown, Connecticut, the report said.

Blake allegedly sat in a vehicle nearby as a getaway vehicle. Police later stopped the vehicle and discovered an additional $8,000 in phony money and thousands of dollars worth of electronics in the vehicle, Patch reported.

Police later stopped the vehicle heading westbound on Interstate 84 and the three suspects were taken to the Newtown Police Station, Newtown Patch said. Per procedure when dealing with counterfeit currency, the Secret Service was later contacted.

Blake was released on a $5,000 non-surety bond with a May 11 court date in Danbury, Connecticut. Labeach was released on a $6,000 surety bond with a May 20 Danbury court date.