49°
Denzel Riddick, 21, of 11A Spring Hill Ave., Norwalk, was charged Tuesday afternoon with first-degree forgery.
Police said Riddick used a $100 bill to buy the items from the Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa gift store. But a suspicious store employee later checked the bill and notified hotel security after it appeared to be counterfeit, police said.
Riddick was questioned about the bill and said he thought it was legitimate, police said. He said he was approached by a white man at a gas station that morning who asked him to make change for a $100 bill, police said.
Riddick said he quickly gave the stranger five $20 bills in return for the $100, police said.
He also said it would have been stupid to try to pass off a counterfeit bill at his workplace.
"He said he had no idea it was counterfeit," Sgt. Kelly Connelly said.
He also said his girlfriend was with him at the gas station.
Police then called his girlfriend and she said they had spent the day together and hadn't left the apartment, sinking Riddick's explanation for how he got the $100.
He is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on July 7. His bond was set at $2,500.
Riddick is also facing 16 charges from four separate incidents in Norwalk, including a March 2014 incident when he and another man are accused of stabbing a 23-year-old man, police said.
Connelly said Riddick was supposed to have been in Norwalk Superior Court on Tuesday for a pretrial hearing on those charges.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
