IN PROPS WE TRUST: Men charged for passing movie money

By Joel Phelps on December 1, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

This post was updated on 2/9/23 to reflect the judicial outcome for one of the defendants.

A pair of Arkadelphia men face felony charges after police say they passed counterfeit bills at a local gas station.

Christopher Anthony Holliman, 26, and Anthony Jaral Balch, 25, were each charged with forgery following a brief investigation by the Arkadelphia Police Department.

According to a probable cause affidavit penned by Sgt. Alvin Johnson, an APD criminal investigator, police were summoned on Oct. 14 to the Big Red gas station at 3005 W. Pine St. for a report by a cashier that two customers had used fake money to purchase merchandise at the store.

Surveillance footage, according to the affidavit, showed two suspects make “multiple” purchases using cash. The four fake $20 notes given to police were labeled as being For Motion Picture Copy Money. Investigators were able to identify the suspects as Holliman and Balch based on previous contact with law enforcement.

TAKE NOTE OF THESE NOTES: The counterfeit bill pictured above and below might look real at first glance, but upon closer inspection a cashier should recognize something is off. Both sides of the bill read this cash is intended only for use as a prop on a film set. | *Joel Phelps/The Arkadelphian*

Both men were arrested three days later and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on unrelated charges. They have since been released from custody.

Deputy prosecutor Greg Vardaman filed the charges this week on behalf of the state. First-degree forgery is a Class B felony punishable by 5-20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $15,000.

Holliman entered a guilty plea on Tuesday, Feb. 7, in Clark County Circuit Court. A plea agreement stipulated that Holliman be sentenced to six years of supervised probation, complete 100 hours of community service, find full-time employment or education and pay $2,090 in fines and court fees.