Angel Navarro was arrested Monday in an incident involving the passing of a counterfeit bill to a minor, the V.I. Police Department reported.
According to the police report, the incident came to light after a Jan. 28 fundraiser at St. Croix Central High School. Personnel told officers a female student gave the staff member a $100 bill for the purchase of two slices of pizza and a soda. The staff member told the young lady, “if this hundred dollar bill is not real, I’ll come back for you!”
The staff member then gave the female minor a total of $94 in change, completing the transaction.
On Feb. 8, school staff was reconciling the funds gathered at the fundraiser. When the $100 bill was checked with a counterfeit identification pen it was discovered to be counterfeit, police said. The student that had presented the counterfeit bill was located Feb. 20. She and the friend she’d made the purchase for were brought before school authorities and questioned as to where they’d gotten the counterfeit currency. The students explained that they’d gotten the $100 bill from Angel Navarro, an adult, who’d given them the bill to purchase pizza and soda.
Detectives with the Youth Investigation Bureau and the Insular Investigation Unit were brought in on the case and contacted Navarro Monday at the St. Croix Central High School. He was arrested and charged with passing forged notes and possession of forged notes. Unable to post the $10,000 bail, he was remanded to the Golden Grove Correctional Facility until his advise of rights hearing.
