GULF SHORES, Alabama May 22 2013-- Police revealed Tuesday that a dozen people were involved in the counterfeiting and drug bust Thursday that started with three people trying to use about $900 in fake $20 bills to purchase tickets to the Hangout Music Festival.
After arresting Jack Russell Morgan, 20, and Lauren Nicole Strick, 18, both of Gulf Shores, and Sydney Brenner Alexander, 21, of Orange Beach, on first-degree possession of a forged instrument charges authorities were led to an apartment on the north side of town. At the residence about $4,000 in fake $20 bills were found along with a printer and scanner, laptops, paper, hash oil, marijuana, and synthetic drugs, according to Gulf Shores police spokesman Sgt. Jason Woodruff.
At the apartment, eight more people were arrested on charges of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
The suspects arrested at the Gulf Shores residence include the following:
- Leena Angel Haidar, 18, of Picayune, Miss.
- Andrea Joselyn Alvarez, 19, of Norcross, Ga.
- Gage Skyler McElroy, 19, of West Beach, Fla.
- Charles Daniel Paryag, 20, of Duluth, Ga.
- Ronald Jay Metzger, 20, of Duluth, Ga.
- Griffin Joseph Goralnik, 19, of Berkley Lake, Ga.
- Cody Dewitt Bartley, 36, of Huntsville, Texas.
- Christopher Scott Boudreaux Jr., 20, of Duson, La.
The owner of the apartment, Devin Bonald Boutwell, 24, of Burris, La., was not home when the other arrests occurred but a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to Gulf Shores police.
Woodruff said Boutwell was arrested Monday on charges of first-degree forgery and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
All of the individuals were booked into the Baldwin County Corrections Center in Bay Minette. Morgan, Strick, and Alexander were each released on $10,000 bail. And all of the other suspects except Bartley, Boudreaux Jr., McElroy and Boutwell were released as well, according to jail records.
Woodruff said no more arrests are expected in the case that is also being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.
Under Alabama state law, first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and first-degree forgery are a Class B felony that can result in up to a 20-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $30,000. Unlawful possession of a controlled substance is a Class C felony that carries a prison sentence of 1-10 years and a fine of up to $15,000.
Source :AL.com