A pair of men suspected of operating quick-change schemes at two area stores were released over the weekend for lack of evidence, according to Union police.
It was thought that the men had tricked a clerk at Buy-Rite IGA, Union, out of about $50, and a clerk in the Villa Ridge area out of about $20. In both cases the out-of-town men had confused clerks while asking for change, and afterwards the cash count at each store came up short, police indicated.
The men were arrested at Union and questioned by both city and couinty officers, but there was insuffficient evidence for charges, according to Union Patrolman Mike Turner.
A quick-change ploy is generally difficult to prove because it’s “hard to pinpoint that the short-change happened then,” said Turner.
The officer described the suspects as two black males, “very clean-cut and well-dressed,” who were traveling from New York to Texas. The men gave New York and Indiana addresses.
They were stopped for questioning less than five minutes after leaving IGA about 7:45 p.m. Friday. The clerk had become suspicious and contacted police after the men left.
Turner said the two had made a purchase for about $1 with a $50 bill. One of them began asking for change in a variety of denominations while the other started an argument with another clerk about a store coupon. Eventually the customer carried his argument about the coupon to the clerk who was trying to make change. The incident lasted several minutes. After the men departed it was found that $50 was missing from the cash drawer, and police were notified.
The pair denied trying to trick the clerk at either store, and one of them volunteered $50 to replace the missing money at IGA.
The man driving the car when Turned stopped them was charged with driving without a licnse. He posted $100 bond with a court date of July 1. Turner said out-of-state motorists frequently do not return for their court appearance on trafic violations, even though failure to appear means that their bond is forfeited and that the warrant remains active against them.