Police: Naples man tried to use fake money to buy Jaguar

By VALLI FINNEY (Contact)
Originally published 12:14 p.m., Monday, February 2, 2009
Updated 12:14 p.m., Monday, February 2, 2009

A Naples man who attempted to pay cash – some of it counterfeit with two bills having the same serial number -- for a 2002 Jaguar on Friday wound up in jail Saturday, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office. .

Jose Junior Hernandez, 30, 4555 W. 24th Place, No. B, was charged by Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies with 12 counts of uttering a false bank note, grand theft and two out-of-county warrants -- one from Miami-Dade County for credit card fraud; the other from Collier County for failure to appear in court for uttering a forged instrument.

According to Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrest reports:

A man went into Trucks Direct, 14180 N. Cleveland Ave., North Fort Myers, wanting to trade his girlfriend’s 2001 Lincoln Navigator for the Jaguar. The salesman said since that location was closing, they would not take any trades.

The man said he would put $4,000 down on the vehicle, changed his mind and put $3,000 on it. He was to go back Saturday to pay an additional $4,500.

Friday, the salesman took the cash to the bank where he attempted to deposit $600. A bank employee discovered the money was counterfeit. The bank retained the $600, the salesman was given a receipt and the money was forwarded to the Secret Service.

The salesman called deputies and was told when the man returned Saturday to call the Sheriff’s Office. He did so.

The man attempted to “pull a large amount of money out of his right front pocket to give to his girlfriend who was sitting in the Expedition.â€