A suspect is in jail after he passed counterfeit money at a Stafford 7-Eleven and deputies realized he was already wanted on outstanding warrants.
On June 9, Deputy S.C. Jett responded to the White Oak 7-Eleven at 552 White Oak Road after a customer passed counterfeit money. The clerk provided Deputy Jett four counterfeit $20 bills which had been used as payment by a regular customer. The counterfeit bills felt noticeably different from real currency and were emblazoned with “Copy Money” on both sides. The clerk did not initially realize the bills were fake. The suspect was still at the store when the ruse was detected. He told the clerk he would return to the store with real money, but this turned out to be an empty promise. Additional “Copy Money” stashed behind a dumpster at the scene by the suspect before he left, including a fake $3 bill, was recovered as well. The suspect was identified as 35-year old Richard Polen Jr., of Stafford.
Deputies learned that Polen was on foot in the area of Dudley Lane and conducted surveillance there. Polen was soon found exiting the woods and taken into custody without incident.
Polen was charged with possession of forged bank notes and obtaining money by false pretenses. Outstanding warrants in Stafford for embezzlement and obtaining money by false pretenses were also served. He was held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.
