Clarissa Mosley (left) and Asonte James
Two Illinois women have been charged in Ritchie County while on their way âto bring counterfeit bills to Charleston,â deputies said.
On Dec. 2, deputies with the Ritchie County Sheriffâs Department responded to an Exxon in Ellenboro in reference to the store receiving a counterfeit bill, according to a criminal complaint.
While en route to the store, deputies were informed that the vehicle, driven by Clarissa Mosley, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, and with a passenger identified as Asonte James, 21, of Freeport, Illinois, had left the area, deputies said.
Deputies located a vehicle matching the description leaving a Shop N Save store on Main Street in Harrisville, at which point deputies conducted a traffic stop, according to the complaint.
During the stop, deputies made contact with Mosley and James and asked them to exit the vehicle, and the two women explained that they âwere traveling to Charleston to their Auntâs house,â and that they had stopped at the Exxon, but the attendant did not tell them that the money was counterfeit, deputies said.
When asked if Mosley and James âhad cash in their possession,â they responded that âthey had a lot of cash in the vehicleâ and gave deputies consent to search it, at which point deputies âobserved a large amount of cash in several denominations in the center console,â according to the complaint.
Deputies also found a black purse âhanging from the driverâs seatâ which held an Illinois ID for Mosley, as well as âa large number of counterfeit one-hundred-dollar bills,â deputies said.
At that time, Mosley and James were given a Miranda statement and then âprovided an audio/video statementâ in which they claimed âthey were working in concert to bring counterfeit bills to Charlestonâ and that âthey passed the bills at two locations, knowing they were counterfeit,â according to the complaint.
Mosley and James have been charged with two counts of counterfeiting, two counts of possession of counterfeit with intent to utter and two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony. They are both being held in North Central Regional Jail on $60,000 bond.
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