Counterfeit bills and tools found in trunk after traffic stop
Matthew Blake Burress, 34, was arrested on Nov. 6, 2016, near Banning, after a California Highway Patrol officer stopped him for speeding, according to an arrest warrant declaration that alleges he offered the officer two fake names and was displaying signs and symptoms of drug intoxication.
A subsequent search of his vehicle’s trunk revealed thousands of counterfeit U.S. bills and “tools used to manufacture counterfeit money,” the declaration alleges. The United States Secret Service later confirmed that the money was counterfeit, according to the declaration. More than $32,000 in fake money was found.
Burress was arrested and later charged with a felony count of fraud and misdemeanor DUI in connection with a bag of methamphetamine and a pipe allegedly found in the car.
Burress is currently behind bars in Phoenix, but details on his incarceration were unavailable, other than he is slated for release in 2020. He’s expected to remain in Riverside County until the conclusion of the counterfeiting case, then be returned to federal custody.
Burress pleaded not guilty and is slated to return to the Banning Justice Center on March 15 for a felony settlement conference.
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