Here’s some advice: If you’re going to try to pass counterfeit $100 bills at a fireworks booth don’t do so at the one manned by the Manteca Police Officers Association.

Two Modesto residents found that out the hard way on Sunday when they were detained and cited by off duty Manteca Police officers for trying to do just that at the booth the MPOA mans for the City of Manteca at Union Road and Yosemite Avenue.

Kelsie Crow, 21, and Christopher Jackson, 20, now face charges of passing counterfeit bills.

Police Chief Nick Obligacion said they first hit the East Union High Band and Color Guard fireworks booth in the 1100 block of North Main Street at 5:30 p.m. Sunday buying a small amount of fireworks with a $100 bill. Then an hour later they did the same at the non-profit fireworks booth in front of Wal-Mart in the 1200 block of South Main Street.

They then looked for a third target — the fireworks booth on Yosemite at Union.

Obligacion said the two non-profits that accepted the counterfeit bills discovered shortly thereafter that they were fake. They used their cell phones to alert other non-profits in Manteca that have fireworks booths as well. The MPOA got a call complete with the description of the woman.

When she tried to flee with her male accomplice, police stopped the vehicle. They also found other counterfeit bills and merchandise they that appeared to have been bought in stores using the funny money.

Obligacion lauded the efforts of the non-profits that were victimized to communicate to others so they wouldn’t become crime victims.

He noted you need to carefully examine both sides of bills to make sure they aren’t counterfeit. The best way, though is to invest in a black light to scan bills.

The MPOA, by the way, gets half of the net proceeds from the booth they man for the city to underwrite their various charity efforts on behalf of needy kids including shopping for Christmas presents, clothes and food for them. The other half goes toward offsetting the cost of the city’s aerial fireworks show over Big League Dreams on the Fourth of July.



Manteca resident

meets Kaepernick

Jacob Naven of Manteca was among those invited to play in the Colin Kaepernick Golf Tournament at Del Rio Country Club. Proceeds benefitted Camp Taylor.

The State Farm Insurance was invited by a client, Coit Carpet Cleaning. Not only did he meet the San Francisco 49er quarterback but he also got a signed football for his family.

Given that Naven is the Sunrise Kiwanis Club president that has more than its fair share of Oakland Raiders fans, that football could prove to be a costly fine.

The Sunrise Kiwanis, by the way, are underwriting the cost of Saturday’s Fourth of July parade as they have done for a number of years.


Dumping kittens

in trash bins

There is someone out there who wouldn’t quality for the Humane Society Person of the Year Award.

Someone on Sunday dumped live kittens in a trash bin outside the North Main Street Save Mart. Manteca Police were notified and animal control officers are doing a follow up.



$400 for playing

people’s sympathies

Speaking of pets, the homeless guy who was picked up recently after people complained about him distributing the peace — he’s been known to  hook up an amplifier to his guitar and cranking it up as loud as he can — was able to hoodwink people out of $400 in one day.

He whipped out signs that said his dog had been jailed by police and he needed to get money to bail him out.

Problem is the dog wasn’t jailed per se but was placed in the animal shelter while the guy was being processed in jail before being released.

Perhaps those who keep falling for his “stories” might want to have him set up shop outside of their place of business or near their homes and enjoy the noise.

By the way, $400 a day for panhandling is better than making $50 an hour for an eight hour day given he isn’t paying taxes. Wonder if the people he plays make that much money an hour?