Santa Barbara County – A team of apparently sophisticated counterfeiters working the scenic Central Coast tourist town of Solvang received something of a compliment from local law enforcement when evidence collected pursuant to their recent arrest earned the distinction of being forwarded to the United States Secret Service for further analysis.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, contact by SBSD detectives was made with the Secret Service “due to the sophistication of the counterfeit bills” which were seized following an investigation that began on the evening of September 30th in the City of Solvang. It was to a downtown Solvang location that SBSD deputies responded to multiple reports by area merchants that there were “several subjects attempting to pass counterfeit $100 bills” throughout the popular tourist center’s retail district.
When deputies arrived and visited with store owners in the Danish Village situated in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley just north of the City of Santa Barbara, they were given “information that led to the location of the suspects inside a parked vehicle.” Deputies then made contact with Tanya Lee Rose, 40, Melissa Jones, 42, Doreen Rowland, 48, and Thomas Berchtold, 40, all of whom are natives of the Bakersfield area.
With positive identification of the suspects made by local merchants providing sufficient probable cause for a search, deputies discovered multiple counterfeit $100 bills, a stun gun, an open bottle of vodka, as well as methamphetamine and other materials suspected to have been used in the production of the counterfeit cash.
Rose, Jones, Rowland, and Berchtold were all arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of counterfeit currency, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
Read more:
LATIMES: In Solvang bust, vodka, cash, meth
KERO: Three Bakersfield natives arrested
KSBY: Solvang business owners help in arrest
