Cabbie's Counterfeit Cash Ended His Life on the Run, Deputies say

A 21-year-old Sarasota pedi-cab driver faces a host of criminal charges after deputies say an attempt to pass off a phony $5 bill led to the unraveling of a secret the man was hiding.

The incident that led to the man’s Saturday arrest began to unfold when a visitor to Siesta Key noticed his pedi-cab driver had given him a counterfeit $5 bill as change for a fare. Upset with receipt of the worthless bill, the victim hailed two deputies for assistance.

When the man showed deputies the bill and gave them a description of the driver, they knew immediately the driver in question, a probable cause affidavit in the case states. Deputies tracked down the cabbie on Ocean Boulevard and ended up stopping him on Beach Road, the affidavit states.

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When asked if he had a counterfeit $5 bill in his possession, the man replied “yes” and told them he received it from a 7-Eleven. Deputies then asked the man if he had other counterfeit bills on him and he said no, but did give them permission to check his wallet.

As the man pulled out his wallet, however, one of the two deputies noticed a green leafy substance fall to the floor of the pedi-cab bike. That green substance would later test positive as marijuana.

Once the wallet was out, the man attempted to remove his ID and debit card before handing it over to deputies.

“I asked him what he was doing and he then stated he had a warrant out of Texas,” the deputy wrote in the affidavit.

As it turned out, that pedi-cab driver had a 2014 conviction on a sexual assault on a child charge and was sentenced to three years’ probation in Texas. His decision to move to Sarasota violated probation while also putting him in hot water with local authorities for failing to register as a sex offender.

Jordan Tamez of 4001 Beneva Road now faces failure to register as a sex offender and possession of marijuana charges in Sarasota. He was booked into the Sarasota County Jail with a bond set at $2,000 Saturday. He is being held, however, for extradition back to Texas to face the violation charges.

Tamez, deputies noted in the arrest affidavit, had been working as a pedi-cab driver for the past three weeks for Sunride Pedicabs.

Photo courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office

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