WHITE PLAINS – A New York City man was sentenced in Westchester County Court to three to six years in state prison for passing counterfeit bills at Bloomingdale’s department store in White Plains.
Donald Jackson, 25, pled guilty to criminal possession of a forged instrument in November and was sentenced as a second felony offender.
Jackson purchased $748 worth of merchandise using eight counterfeit $100 bills at the department store. A store asset protection employee recognized Jackson as having been in the store weeks earlier with two girls he handed money to for use there. The money was later determined to be counterfeit.
The employee began watching Jackson on the video surveillance system and witnessed the sales transaction take place. He then saw Jackson leave the store and walk outside to a vehicle, which the employee recognized from the previous incident.
The worker immediately checked the bills in the cash register and noticed they were fake. With the money in hand, he ran outside to get the license plate number of the car and he flagged down a White Plains Police officer who was parked in the lot. The officer located the vehicle, which was still in the parking lot, and arrested Jackson.
A search of Jackson revealed 18 more counterfeit $100 bills in his pocket. The stolen merchandise was recovered from the back seat.
District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr., noted that Jackson also has a pending charge in Paramus, New Jersey, for using counterfeit bills at Lord & Taylor store.