Two men arrested in alleged quick change scam

Police arrested two Memphis, Tenn., men in connection with an alleged quick change scheme that targeted three Cape Girardeau stores, and advise that these type of crimes tend to increase during the holidays.

The first of the incidents occurred Wednesday around 1:45 p.m. at Schnucks, 19 S. Kingshighway.

A store employee called the police after she realized that Colby D. Holland, 22, of Memphis, approached the customer service desk and asked for one $100 bill in exhange for five $20 bills, according to a probable-cause statement signed by Henry Jay Freeman of the Cape Girardeau Police Department. When the clerk handed him a $100 bill, he allegedly concealed the bill and produced a $10 bill, claiming that was what she had given him.

When she stood her ground, he asked for two fives in exchange for the 10 and left the store, the statement said.

Holland allegedly went to Huck's, 353 S. Kingshighway, and attempted to use a $100 bill to buy some cigarettes, according to the sworn statement. When he changed his mind and asked for the money back, he told the cashier she'd only given him a 10, and she asked him to empty his pockets.

He didn't seem to have a $100 bill on him, so the cashier gave him one, but the store's surveillance camera later showed he'd tucked the money in a back pocket and only emptied his front pockets, according to the statement.

The third victim in the quick change scam was Jaspers,1008 N. Kingshighway. This time Holland and another man, Eric L. Cotton allegedly took $20 from the store before police caught up with them, according to a sworn statement signed by a Cape Girardeau police officer.

Holland was charged with three counts of stealing and Cotton with one count.

"We'd like to advise patrons to be on alert for any suspicious activity during the holidays," police spokesman Sgt. Barry Hovis said.

Scams like this surface more frequently during the holidays because stores tend to be busier and it becomes easier to distract employees during the rush, Hovis said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245