Police are looking for man accused of using fake dollars

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (WBTV) – Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are hoping to find a man who allegedly used counterfeit money to buy a PlayStation 5 from another citizen.

The incident happened on Monday, November 1 at the Walmart located at 3850 Independence Blvd. in east Charlotte, police said.

“Someone was selling a PlayStation 5, so they met in a Walmart parking lot in the afternoon and after the transaction the victim realized that they had been paid with fake bills of $ 20 equivalent. over $ 800, “Constable Tom Hildebrand said with the CMPD.

Hildebrand said the alleged victim reported the incident to the CMPD and police quickly identified the man suspected of using counterfeit money. Hildebrand said there is now an arrest warrant for Dorea Pickens.

Hildebrand shared a photo of Pickens and a photo of a car Pickens is known to drive.

“At this point what we do is we have a good picture of a social media account of the suspect and also of the car he is driving, which is quite unique. It’s a yellow Camaro with two black racing stripes down the middle, ”explained Hildebrand.

He said Pickens was wanted for obtaining property under false pretenses and that officers believed he could be linked to other similar cases in the area.

Hildebrand said it was not unusual for police to encounter counterfeit money in Charlotte, but it was unusual to see counterfeit banknotes used in large quantities.

“It is not uncommon to see counterfeit banknotes. I think it is unusual to see this amount of counterfeit bills in one transaction. A lot of times you can have a fake $ 20 bill or a fake $ 50 bill used at a gas station or something like that, but seeing over $ 800 in one transaction is a bit unusual, ”Hildebrand said.

The officer said community members should be careful about shopping from other citizens as the holiday season approaches. He said people need to be safe when participating in face-to-face exchanges. Hildebrand said members of the public can trade in front of CMPD stations in QuikTrip parking lots. These areas have been qualified as “safe trading areas” by the CMPD.

“We see these manual transactions coming back and people coming together in these parking lots to do them, so we always want to encourage people to use common sense when doing these kinds of transactions,” Hildebrand said. .

Anyone with information about Pickens or anyone else using counterfeit money is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. Informants can remain anonymous and they can receive a cash reward if they have information that leads to an arrest.