MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Every counterfeit $20 bill passed at Taco Bell, 7-Eleven, and other shops carried the same serial number — a clue detectives say led to the arrest of a 22-year-old man.
According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Dequan Antonio Johnson Jr. was part of a scheme that spanned at least seven separate incidents across Martin County throughout November 2025, all involving counterfeit $20 bills marked with the serial number PE69911324G.
Detectives said surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts, and fixed traffic camera data connected Johnson to each incident, as well as to the repeated use of a white Nissan Sentra that appeared in every case.
The investigation began on November 13, when deputies were called to a Taco Bell on South Kanner Highway after employees reported receiving four counterfeit bills two days earlier. A manager told deputies a white sedan came through the drive-thru with three occupants, and both the driver and a backseat passenger handed over $20 bills that later tested counterfeit. An employee recorded the vehicle as it sped away, capturing a clear view of the license plate…