TRENTON — A Wayne man who was arrested last week on suspicion of passing counterfeit bills at two West Road businesses has been released.
He was one of two men who were believed to have passed the fake money at Tim Hortons, 1816 West Road, and Trenton Ice Cream Shoppe, 2081 West Road.
He was arrested Aug. 6, not for passing the bills, but for probable cause based on an outstanding warrant out of Romulus. Trenton police said, however, that he was released Aug. 9 when a warrant for passing the bills was denied.
The denial, they said, came because of the difficulty in proving that the man knew he was passing the counterfeit bills and did so deliberately.
Trenton police were called just after 2 p.m. to Tim Hortons on word that two men had tried to buy some items with a counterfeit $20 bill that felt “fuzzy” and “thin” and an employee refused to accept. Officers were called again minutes later when a clerk at the ice cream store became suspicious.
Both men entered the store and bought ice cream; each paid with a counterfeit $20 bill and left, police said. One men returned to get change for another $20 bill. An employee then checked a $20 bill with a detection pen and found it to be a fake. The man then took it back and returned to a red Chevrolet Trail Blazer, which then drove off.
The Wayne man who was arrested was the driver. He is described as black, tall, wearing thick glasses, a black shirt and blue jeans. The other man white, in his mid-20s and wore white shoes, jeans and a white shirt. While he was being held in Trenton, police said U.S. Secret Service officers tried to interview the man, adding that they will be involved in the case.