Larry Pritchard has a history of printing counterfeit money in Mississippi, Wisconsin and Missouri.
The 39-year-old convicted felon now sits in Clay County Jail for being part of a new counterfeiting scheme, which also left two of his alleged accomplices behind bars, and has police searching for a fourth suspect.
Starkville police are still searching for a man who walked into the B-Quik convenience store at North Jackson Street and Garrard Road on Dec. 10 and used a counterfeit $50 bill to pay for his purchases. An image taken from the store”s security camera shows the suspect, a black male in a black and gold striped T-shirt over a long-sleeve dark shirt, entering the store. He also is wearing a dark hat, which covers his ears, and dark pants.
The $50 bill used by the man in the image had the same serial number as the four counterfeit $50 bills used Dec. 1 at Walmart on Highway 12, said Starkville Police Department Detective Landon Stamps.
“The same person printed all of them, but they”ve been distributed out through whatever means, hand-to-hand or whatever,” Stamps said.
During the Dec. 1 incident, Pritchard was joined by 23-year-old Joe Gillespie and 19-year-old Carlton Fisher in a scheme equivalent to money laundering, Stamps said.
Gillespie went into Walmart and purchased a ring from the jewelry department with four counterfeit $50 bills, Stamps said. Fisher, a Walmart employee who was in on the counterfeiting scheme, was working the jewelry counter, Stamps said.
After Gillespie made the purchase, he walked out of the store and security cameras captured him talking to a man in a white Lincoln Town Car. Police later identified the man in the Town Car as Pritchard.
Gillespie then went back into the store and attempted to return the ring at the customer service desk for a cash refund, but he was directed to return to the jewelry department. He went to the jewelry department and was given a refund in real dollars, not counterfeit bills, Stamps said. He then exited the store, got in the Lincoln and left, Stamps said.
“The whole transaction … might have taken 12 minutes,” Stamps said.
Walmart employees discovered the fake $50 bills and when they were used, Stamps said, then checked security cameras for that time frame.
Pritchard has previous convictions for printing counterfeit money in Milwaukee and Missouri, Stamps said. He also has a counterfeiting charge pending in Mississippi, plus the new charge of possession of counterfeit notes. Stamps believes the fake $50 bills were “left over” from previous printing operations.
Pritchard would bleach $1 or $5 bills, then reprint them as $50 bills, Stamps said.
“It”s a fairly detailed process on how they bleach the money without ruining the parchment, but it”s not hard to find out,” Stamps said.
Gillespie, who previously has been convicted of burglary and only recently was released from incarceration, also faces a charge of possession of counterfeit notes. He and Fisher, who was given the same charge, both were released on bond.
Police believe Pritchard was the ringleader.
“I do believe Mr. Pritchard was the main one behind it,” Stamps said. “Everybody knew what they were doing and everybody had an involvement in it, but obviously Mr. Pritchard had the past counterfeiting charges of printing and I do believe the (fake $50 bills) were left over from last time.”
Gillespie was arrested by Starkville police on Monday, Fisher was arrested on Wednesday and Pritchard was taken into custody by the Yazoo City Police Department on Thursday. Starkville police then transported Pritchard back to the Golden Triangle the following day.
The Secret Service contributed to the investigation.
Anyone with information on the Dec. 10 incident at the B-Quik on North Jackson Street is encouraged to call Starkville police at 662-323-4131.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
