YORK – Lance Onarheim, 37, of Springfield, Mo., was initially charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors in York County associated with passing counterfeit money and he pleaded not guilty.
A plea agreement has been reached and he has pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a forged instrument.
The case began when the York County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the eastbound rest area along Interstate 80, in York County, because someone gave a taxi driver a fake $100 bill.
The deputy says in the affidavit filed with the court that the taxi driver said at the scene he gave a man a ride to that location from Grand Island.
The deputy said when the taxi driver handed him the $100 bill, the deputy could immediately tell it was fake. The driver also said he gave the man $40 in change.
While looking around the area, the deputy said a vehicle stopped and the driver said he saw a man running to the west side of the rest area.
The deputy found a man at a gazebo, lying under a picnic table in a sleeping bag.
The man admitted he gave the taxi driver a fake $100 bill.
A records check on the name he provided showed that his given name was actually George Mason Jr.