Fake money leads to deadly shooting over cocaine deal, police say

CHAMBLEE, Ga. — Police say real cocaine and fake cash led to a deadly double shooting during a drug deal at a DeKalb County apartment complex.

Investigators say they discovered 7 kilos of cocaine, about $230,000 in counterfeit money and a fake police badge at the scene.

Chamblee police Capt. Ernesto Ford gave Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach an up close look Tuesday at the evidence they confiscated from the scene.

Inside the evidence room of the Chamblee Police Department, detectives laid out the large stacks of $100 bills.

The money was all fake, printed to be used in movies filmed in the Atlanta area.

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Detectives also laid out several bricks of cocaine. Those were the real deal.

“Seven individually packaged 1-kilo packages of cocaine” is what Ford said investigators found inside a bag.

Chamblee police say two groups -- one composed of buyers, one of sellers -- went to the Sierra Village Apartments along Buford Highway on Saturday night to make a deal.

“The persons buying the drugs came with $230,000 in counterfeit money. They went into the apartment.

At some point, the sellers realized the money was counterfeit and from there, it broke bad,” Ford said.

Ford said another giveaway that the money was fake was that nearly $250,000 in $100 bills all had the exact same serial number.

“A neighbor called 911 to report gunshots, then saw someone hanging from an upstairs balcony, dangling to get away from the gunfire,” Ford told Gehlbach.

One person from each group was shot as the gunfire continued outside, shattering an apartment window.

Police say Charles Nelson, 32, from Henry County, died at the scene. Another man was shot in the chest, but survived.

“There was a guy that appeared to have jumped off the balcony and was dangling off the balcony,” Ford said.

Investigators are still trying to determine who else was involved and track down where the fake money and cocaine came from.

Cox Media Group