Woman arrested after using counterfeit $100 bills twice at same Petaluma store

Saturday, January 18, 2020
PETALUMA, Calif. -- Police arrested a 41-year-old woman suspected of buying gift cards with counterfeit money, twice in as many days at the same grocery store in Petaluma.

Amber R. Cook allegedly used fake $100 bills to buy a prepaid $400 gift card around 4:15 a.m. Wednesday at a Safeway store on South McDowell Blvd, Petaluma police said.
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Then on Thursday, around 2 a.m., Cook allegedly bought another $500 Visa gift card with counterfeit $100s at the same store.

After the second purchase, a store staffer was able to give police a description of Cook's car and where she was headed.

An officer pulled her over and the store employee identified Cook as the suspect, police said.

Cook, a resident of Somerset in El Dorado County, was arrested and booked at Sonoma County Jail.
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While she was being booked, officers found suspected narcotics hidden in her bra, police said.



Two other stores in the area have recently reported cases of a woman passing counterfeit $100 bills and authorities are investigating.

Anyone who has information on similar incidents is asked to contact the Petaluma Police Department at 707-778-4372.

ABC7 News contributed to this report.
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