An Illinois woman was charged with drunk driving and forgery after she tried to buy $49 in food from a Taco Bell with a counterfeit $50 bill.
Joy Taborn, 42, of Joliet, IL, was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office with uttering a forgery. If convicted of the charge, Taborn faces up to six years in prison and/or fined up to $10,000.
According to the criminal complaint, an employee at the restaurant called the police when Taborn tried to buy $49 in food from Taco Bell, 5620 Washington Ave. Taborn left before she could get her food. When police stopped Taborn in her car leaving the restaurant, the officer found that Taborn had another $50 bill that had the same serial number as the one used to pay Taco Bell.
During the investigation, the detective learned that only the $50 used to buy the food was counterfeit and the other one was not. Taborn told the police she buys items in Joliet from Target and Walmart, and sells them in Racine. She received the counterfeit bill from someone she sold clothing to, but she couldn’t describe the man she sold them to.
The officer told Taborn that her story didn’t make sense. She was also cited for drunken driving because her blood-alcohol content was .12, just over the legal limit of .08.
A cash bond was set for $500. Taborn is expected to have a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. July 13.