WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. — A man has been arrested for trying to use counterfeit $100 bills at multiple Crawfordville businesses.
Frederick Paqua was taken into custody by the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office.
During the month of January, Paqua and Audrey Campbell went to multiple Crawfordvile businesses trying to pay for items with counterfeit bills.
Detectives obtained the receipt from a O’Reilly’s Auto Parts transaction as well as the voided transaction. They then returned to the O’Reilly Auto Parts and an employee identified a photograph of Campbell as being the person who had attempted to pass the counterfeit $50 bill.
Detectives researched social media pages used by Campbell and noted a photograph which showed a tattoo above her top left chest as previously described by witnesses. Detectives also noted she had gotten engaged to Paqua in October of 2018.
They subsequently obtained Walmart surveillance video footage from January 15 and 17, which showed Paqua entering Walmart, attempting the transactions, and leaving.
Detectives also got surveillance video footage from January 23 of a four door dark gray car leaving O’Reilly Auto Parts and driving out the backside of a Zaxby’s parking lot.
On January 31, detectives obtained arrest warrants charging Paqua with seven counts of passing counterfeit bills. On Feb. 28, the police department in Waycross, Georgia, arrested Paqua for an unrelated matter and booked him into the Ware County Jail. A hold was placed on him to facilitate his return to Wakulla County to face the charges.
On March 6, Campbell was arrested by the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office for an unrelated matter and booked into the Lowndes County Jail. On Tuesday, deputies traveled to Valdosta and interrogated Campbell, who admitted to entering O’Reilly’s Auto Parts on January 23 and passing the counterfeit bill.
Campbell stated that when she or Paqua successfully purchased an item with counterfeit bills, the item would then be returned to the store and exchanged for cash.
Campbell said she and Paqua fled from Volusia County to North Florida and South Georgia because Paqua had a fugitive warrant from Volusia County for counterfeiting.
