ST. GEORGE — A local man was arrested at a convenience store in Hurricane after he reportedly went to the same store with counterfeit bills in his possession twice and was met by the same clerk who called the police.
On Tuesday morning, a man purchased a few items at a convenience store in Hurricane, and during the transaction, the suspect handed the cashier five $5 bills and requested a $20 bill and five $1 bills in exchange, according to charging documents filed with the court.
As the man was getting into his vehicle, the cashier checked the bills and discovered that all five were fake, which is when the clerk wrote down the license plate number and called police. Officers responded to the store and took a report, along with the counterfeit currency.
On Thursday morning, the suspect returned to the convenience store where the same cashier was working, who then called police once again.
Officers responded and detained the suspect, later identified as Jason Pronto, 42, of Hurricane, and confirmed with the clerk that it was the same man who was in the store two days earlier.
The suspect told officers he was unaware the bills were fake, but he admitted being in the store Tuesday morning, the report states.
During a search of the suspect, officers found a $10 bill that appeared to be counterfeit, as well as one count each of misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia and a controlled substance.
Pronto remains in custody on $5,000 bail.
This report is based on court records and arrest documents and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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