The store clerk said the two men acted like ordinary customers. It wasn’t until after they left, she realized the money was fake.
SAN ANTONIO — Two men have been identified by police after allegedly using counterfeit cash at a convenience store in Hondo — and it was all caught on camera.
According to Hondo Police Chief Justin Soza, the suspects used a fake $10 bill to purchase beer at a ‘Minits,’ a convenience store located on the 400 block of 19th Street. The incident occurred just before 3 p.m. Tuesday.
“Counterfeit is counterfeit, and sometimes when everybody’s looking for it to be the $100 bill, it could be the ten-dollar bill,” Chief Soza said.
The store clerk, who did not want to appear on camera, said the two men acted like ordinary customers and did not raise suspicion at first. It wasn’t until after they left that she realized the money was fake.
“The clerk realized the money was counterfeit and had checked it with a counterfeit pen and immediately notified law enforcement,” Soza said.
While Soza says this doesn’t appear to be part of a broader trend in the area, he warns that even small incidents of fraud can carry larger consequences.
“The store clerk, they’re responsible for their till,” he said. “At the end of the day if they’ve accepted that money, there could be consequences in their employment. And we want to protect people in our community from those who are doing harm.”
The two men seen in surveillance footage have since been identified. The case is now being handled by the department’s Criminal Investigations Division.
Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Hondo Police.