Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 09/29/2009

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Terry Menshek (707) 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Assistant District Attorney Christine M. Cook

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

PAROLEE GUILTY OF POSSESSING COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced today that a Sonoma County jury found parolee Bernie Lee Verrett guilty of one count of felony possession of counterfeit currency. The three-day jury trial was heard in Department Ten of the Sonoma County Superior Court, the Honorable Judge Arthur Wick presiding.

On September 3, 2008, Mr. Verrett was pulled over for a license plate registration violation by the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety.  During the stop he was searched pursuant to the terms of his parole.  In his right front pocket, were three $100 counterfeit bills.  During the trial an expert witness from the United States Secret Service testified that the bills were in fact counterfeit and had been passed on a few occasions.

Mr. Passalacqua stated, “There is no excuse for possessing counterfeit bills. They are worthless and those who knowingly possess them as if they were cash are committing a crime that hurts both individuals and businesses. I am glad that the jury held this defendant accountable for his unlawful actions.”

The jury came to a verdict of guilty on the counterfeit charge in approximately 4 hours.  Mr. Verrett was sentenced on September 22, 2009, to three years in State Prison.  Rohnert park Police Department was the reporting agency and prosecutor Rosanne Darling tried the case.