Amherst PD and ACPD arrest Justin Lewis and Abdoulaye Sanogo Sunday around 1:00 PM
Justin Lewis, 21 (left); Abdoulaye Sanogo, 19 (right), both from New York
Amherst police, with an assist from Amherst College PD, arrested two young men -- one of them a 2nd year Amherst College student -- for passing counterfeit $100 bills two days in a row at the CVS on University Drive.
In a bail hearing before Judge William Hadley this afternoon a public defender countered the Commonwealth's request for $1,500 bail by pointing out Abdoulaye Sanogo was on a full scholarship to Amherst College, and he was cooperative with police at his arrest.
He also said his client was acting on orders from the other guy (Justin Lewis). Both perps are from New York, which is why the Commonwealth is worried about them being a flight risk.
Clerk Nagle had refused to set bail on the day they were arrested saying to a few police officers he would not trust whatever cash they might come up with.
Judge Hadley mulled over the facts for a few minutes and decided on $800 cash for Abdoulaye Sanogo and $1,000 for Justin Lewis. Their cases were continued for pre trial to March 28.
And you can bet the Clerk's Office will closely scrutinize any
$100 bills.
I love Nagle, very common sense guy
ReplyDeleteSo I am not clear, is it ok or not ok to print money that has no collateral?
ReplyDeleteAnd if it is not ok, how do we decide who to punish?
It would seem logical to punish the people that print the most unbacked money and ignore those that have only been caught doing it once or twice.
"Left the store without offering any other form of payment."
ReplyDeleteTHAT is a crime?!?!?
Stating that a bill is "counterfeit" and "seizing" it is an old scam -- the US Secret Service does NOT confiscate individual bills, or at least they didn't used to -- instead they stamped them "COUNTERFIT" because of this.
Some bully-behind-a-register doesn't want my $100, fine, give it back and I walk out of the store, never to return.
Don't, and you're going to the hospital.
Sorry, Ed, but you don't get a do over when passing counterfeit money. Um, can I have my fake money back so I can go to another store? No, you can't. Of course, your solution was to add assault charges. Very smart.
ReplyDeleteDon't you get it? It's never the criminals' fault.
DeleteI agree with other commentators online that we should arrest all the criminals in Amherst and blast their photos all over the internet, to deter other's from doing similar crimes in our town.
ReplyDeleteSo a kid behind a counter at the CVS has the authority to confiscate bills from customers? I wonder if this is the same place that uses our police force to physically detain individuals while they are NOT on CVS property in order to serve trespass notices.
ReplyDeleteDon't you love how people point the finger of racism and everyone else. This is the legacy of President Obama.
ReplyDeleteLarry...I think it is a real problem that I can't even understand what half your commenters are saying. But I'd do understand your reporting...thanks.
ReplyDeleteI believe Anon 7:31 was using a special font for sarcasm.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a racial crime or punishment. Except maybe Ben Franklin?
anon 9:33 -- That's what I meant by give me my genuine US currency back or go to the hospital.
ReplyDeleteAnd unless the APD has a whole lot more on these two than they are saying, and they well might, they have a really shaky case as they have to prove both intent & chain of custody.
Black kids have civil rights, if the charges don't stick, look for a lawsuit.
Ed…mere possession of fake US currency is a felony in MA. There will be no lawsuit. Check out MGL c267s12. Passing the false note is Uttering, also a felony, c267s10. If they received "goods and services" or any other object of a larceny..then..they are stealing. Under multiple theories these fellas are looking up at it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure -- refusing to accept genuine Federal Reserve Notes as "legal tender for all debts, public or private" is a FEDERAL offense, and a Federal court is going to agree that the duty to comply with Federal law supersedes the duty to comply with conflicting state law.
ReplyDeleteThink about it for a minute -- the Federal Civil Rights Acts of the 1960's superseded the state Jim Crow Laws, they didn't repeal them. Massachusetts still has at least two sodomy statutes on the books -- which are moot.
Mens Rea thus comes to mind -- knowingly possessing counterfeit ones is a felony, the issue is having reasonable cause to know. It's like "receiving stolen goods" -- you have to have reasonable cause to know.
And sucks to be you in line behind me because *I* now have an iodine pen too and will check every bill given to me in change. One at a time.
ReplyDelete