BPD: Counterfeit case leads to arrest of man after public tips

A man who police say passed counterfeit $100 bills at two Batesville-area stores — including one marked “For Motion Picture Purposes” — has been identified and arrested after a multi-agency investigation and a flood of public tips.

According to the Independence County Sheriff’s Department, deputies first responded Nov. 29 to Little Field Express on Batesville Boulevard, where a clerk reported a pale-skinned white man with distinctive facial tattoos used a suspicious $100 bill to buy a phone charger. The clerk told deputies he accepted the bill after testing it, but later discovered it was fake. Surveillance images captured the man and a dark-blue hatchback-style vehicle.

Around the same time, Batesville Police took a similar report at Hobby Lobby, where the same man, accompanied by two children, allegedly used another counterfeit $100 bill. Employees later noticed the bill was marked as movie prop money. Video showed the suspect carrying a large stack of bills.

Detectives from both agencies compared footage and, with help from media releases and social media searches, identified the man as Joshua Lynn Brogdon, 38, recently released from federal prison and on active probation. Authorities said Brogdon was from the Memphis area. ACIC and NCIC records showed Brogdon has more than four felony convictions.

A warrant was issued charging Brogdon with first-degree forgery as a habitual offender. He was arrested Dec. 5 and is being held on a total bond of $100,000.

Image: Independence County Sheriff’s Office