PORT ANGELES — As much as $4,000 in fake cash could be circulating in the Port Angeles area, police are saying after the arrest of three people last week allegedly involved in a counterfeit operation.
The fake bills, all $20 notes, were made using a computer and printer, said Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith.
Police uncovered the counterfeit operation in a residence in the 1300 block of East Front Street on Friday while executing a search warrant.
An unspecified number of fake $20 bills were found, along with illegal drugs and illegally possessed firearms, police said.
Nathan Wayne Terry, 21, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of forgery.
Estene Marie Pass, 41, was arrested for investigation of forgery and possession of methamphetamine, and Michael Harry Lyman, 49, was arrested for investigation of forgery and three felony counts of unlawful possession of a firearm at the home.
The investigation began Wednesday when a store clerk at Liquid Fuels, 210 E. First St., notified police that Terry had tried to pay with counterfeit cash.
The Port Angeles resident fled from the store after the clerk told him he was calling the police. He was arrested later that night, Sgt. Barb McFall said.
During the investigation, police received a search warrant for the home occupied by Pass and Lyman.
In June 2007, Terry was sentenced to 22 months in prison for an arson spree at Port Angeles High School earlier that year.
More than a dozen garbage cans and paper posters were ignited, televisions and computer monitors were smashed and bookshelves were knocked over.
Smith, on Saturday, said that the fake bills are printed on paper that isn’t typically used, but that it can still be easily identified as fake to anyone looking closely at it.
“It was paper that would make them appear — if you weren’t paying attention — to look real,” he said.
“Unfortunately, with modern technology, it’s easier than we would like to make bills that at first appear to look OK,” he added.
Smith said Port Angeles police detectives told him that the text and color of the fake bills appear different from legitimate bills, and that the texture of the notes will be noticeably different to anyone who handles cash on a regular basis.
All of the fake bills were made as copies of the same note, so they will have the same serial number, he said. Police are expected to release the serial number as early as Monday.
Port Angeles Downtown Association Executive Director Barb Frederick said downtown merchants had been notified of the counterfeit bills.
Frederick said she hadn’t heard of any association members coming across the fake cash.
“But everyone is on the lookout and knows how to identify it if it does show up,” she added.
Smith said that the Port Angeles Police Department has received “some calls” from people who came across the phony money, but he didn’t have any further information on the calls.
If convicted, Pass, Lyman and Terry would likely have to pay restitution, Smith said.
He said counterfeit cash circulating through the North Olympic Peninsula is not rare, and estimated that law enforcement are notified about fake bills in Clallam County on a weekly basis.
But just because fake cash is found here, doesn’t mean that it was created locally, Smith added.
Smith didn’t know how long the fake money had been passed.
The investigation is continuing, Smith said, and police are working to determine if there is a connection to a larger counterfeit ring.
Port Townsend Police Sgt. Ed Green said Saturday that he plans to contact Port Angeles police to see if there is any connection between the Port Angeles case and the passing of $100 counterfeit bills in East Jefferson County in January.
The Port Townsend Police Department and the federal Secret Service are still working to find the man who passed the bills to merchants, Green said.
Smith said that anyone who comes in possession of a fake bill should call the Port Angeles Police Department, at 360-452-4545.
He said that being given a fake bill is not a crime. Knowingly passing counterfeit cash is a criminal offense.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.