ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta police are crediting some quick-thinking good Samaritans for helping them catch a counterfeiting suspect.
Police have charged Malik Lewis, 18, with several crimes, including forgery, theft and battery stemming from the Oct. 26 incident on Windward Parkway.
Terry Ward, general manager of Smashburger, told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik that Lewis came into his restaurant and tried to buy a drink using a fake $50 bill.
“I didn’t think nothing of it, because it was crisp,” he said.
But, after Lewis started acting suspicious and walked outside, Ward said he rechecked the bill and realized it was fake.
“It was like a piece of paper that had the outside in it, not the outside of the 50,” he said.
Ward said he confronted Lewis and told him to return the change he’d been given.
“I said, ‘Give me my money back. Don’t run; I’m fast, I will catch you,’” he said. “He took off, so I took off behind him.”
Ward said the two ran around the building, and at one point, he said Lewis threw a punch at him, and they ended up on the ground near Windward Parkway.
That’s when Sean Healey, who runs a nutrition supplement shop, said he saw the scuffle and ran outside to intervene.
“They were on Windward Parkway, running around. I was like, holy smoke, this is crazy,” he said.
Healey said he could sense Ward was running out of steam, so he jumped in.
“This is a bucket list item, so I had to check it off the list,” Healey said. “Hold down a criminal until the cops come, so that was great.”
Healey said Lewis was crying.
“I told him not to cry,” Healey said. “I told him to stop being a wussy.”
Alpharetta police said they found $11,000 on Lewis after his arrest, and they believe it was likely proceeds from other counterfeit purchases.
“It’s getting harder to detect with the changes of technology and what’s available out there,” said Officer George Gordon.
“Criminals that have the technological expertise. They can make very close proximity to counterfeit money like the real thing.”
WSBTV
