Women Nabbed With Wad Of Counterfeit $100 Bills: Cops

OAK LAWN, IL -- Two women were nabbed with a wad of counterfeit cash after using a fake one-hundred dollar bill to pay for a takeout order at Hooters, prosecutors said. Courtney Martin, 21, of Evergreen Park, and Jada Van Pelt, 20, of Chicago, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on felony charges of forgery. Martin also has another pending case.

According to the charges, around 10:42 p.m. Aug. 14, Martin used a phony one-hundred dollar bill to purchase a takeout order for $7 at Hooters in Oak Lawn. The prosecutor said that an off-duty police officer working security recognized the bill as being fake and called police. By the time officers arrived, Martin had already left in a vehicle driven by Van Pelt.

Oak Lawn police spotted the car at 95th Street and Cicero, and pulled the women over. The off-duty cop identified Martin as the person who allegedly passing the phony bill at Hooters. When Van Pelt opened her fanny pack to give police her driver’s license, officers spotted a wad of bills, the prosecutor said. According to police, officers recovered $995 in counterfeit one-hundred dollar bills all with the same serial number from Van Pelt’s fanny pack. In addition, officers found receipts for small purchases, for which $100 had been tendered. The extent of the alleged counterfeit bill passing is still under investigation, the prosecutor said.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Martin works at night club in Harvey and is scheduled to start college next week.

Martin is out on bond for pending retail theft case from Aug. 6 in Evergreen Park, the prosecutor said. Martin’s bail was set at $25,000. The judge also ordered her to be on a curfew from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“She shows a propensity to recommit at her tender age of 21,” Felice said.

Van Pelt was released on a $20,000 I-bond. Both women are due back in court Aug. 29 in Bridgeview.

“Everyone deserves a break,” the judge told Van Pelt. “I hope you don’t re-commit.”