By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 34-year-old Guthrie woman charged with possessing $1,110 in counterfeit cash in Stillwater failed to appear in court here on May 21 — due to being arrested and jailed the same day in Oklahoma City for failing to appear in court there on Feb. 14 on an Oklahoma County charge of possessing a firearm while on probation, court records show.
If convicted of her Payne County charge of possessing counterfeit money along with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, Amanda Diane Meadows, who has also been known by the surname of Canning, could be incarcerated for four years and fined $3,000.
“On 1/11/24, patrol officers with the Stillwater Police Department took two reports of uttering a forged instrument where counterfeit United States $50 bills were used to purchase merchandise from Braum’s located at 504 N. Perkins Rd. and Whataburger at 1001 N. Boomer Rd. A suspect vehicle was obtained through security footage, and the vehicle was located outside the Wyndam Garden Hotel at 600 E. McElroy,” Officer Josh Carson wrote in an affidavit.
When the vehicle left the hotel, the driver, Jason Ray Moorman, 43, of Coyle, was arrested during a traffic stop in Stillwater on a Logan County warrant of obtaining property by false pretense, a misdemeanor charge on which he has been scheduled to appear in court in Guthrie on June 13, court records show.
“During a search incident to arrest, $830 worth of counterfeit U.S. currency was located. Jason told officers he was staying with Amanda Meadows/Canning,” in Stillwater at the hotel, the affidavit alleged.
When officers from the Special Projects Unit went to the Stillwater hotel, Amanda “was not willing to unlock the door. We had already confirmed Amanda and Jason had rented the room and confirmed Amanda had felony warrants issued out of Logan County. I kicked the room door open and found Amanda hiding in the northwest corner of the room.
“Just before her arrest, Amanda stated she ate a bottle of Gabapentin and fentanyl. LifeNet was called to the scene and Detective Elliott went with Amanda to the hospital. I observed a printer and paper in the room that were used to manufacture counterfeit money. I also observed a pipe and white powder in plain view that appeared to be fentanyl,” Officer Carson alleged in his affidavit.
After the officer was granted a search warrant from Payne County District Judge Phillip Corley, “We found printer paper with $20 bills printed on them inside the printer. The paper was uncut and whole. We found a straight-line paper cutter that was being used to make precise cuts on the counterfeit bills. Several scrap pieces of paper were found near the printer that were scraps from bills already cut.
“Markers were nearby, and, in my training and experience, markers are used to touch up counterfeit bills when they are printed to make them more realistic. We found several scrap bills that were torn and looked like they were mistakes in the counterfeiting process. A box of resume paper was located near the printer. Resume paper is used in the counterfeiting process because it is thicker and more realistic when finished,” the affidavit alleged.
“Along with the counterfeiting evidence, we located numerous pipe and bongs. A trace amount of methamphetamine was located along with three Suboxine pills and a trace amount of fentanyl. I observed pictures of Amanda and Jason together inside the room,” as well as his VA card.
“A total of $1100 of counterfeit money was seized. I compared the money in the room to the money seized on the traffic stop from Jason Moorman. I observed several of the counterfeit bills had the same serial number. I also located two receipts from Braum’s and Walmart. Items with little value were being purchased at Braum’s with $50 bills, and the cashier was giving Jason and Amanda real U.S. currency as change.
“I also observed a Walmart receipt where Jason and Amanda were loading prepaid Visa debit cards with $50 and $20 bills. Individuals that counterfeit money often hide their counterfeiting enterprise by changing the counterfeit bills by purchasing items with a lesser value than the counterfeit bills they are passing or loading the counterfeit bills on a prepaid card, so the counterfeiting goes undetected. Once Amanda was medically cleared, she was transported to the SPD jail and booked without incident,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
She was then held in the Payne County Jail for almost four months until she was released on $5,000 bond at her trial court arraignment on May 7 with an order to return to court on May 21; when she failed to appear, Payne County Associate District Judge Michael Kulling issued a bench warrant for her arrest.
According to Logan County court records, in a separate case in 2019 she was charged with harboring a fugitive suspected of committing a drive-by shooting, a felony for which she was fined $500 and ordered to have a substance abuse evaluation in 2021.
Her companion, Jason Ray Moorman, was charged in January with misdemeanor counts of possessing $730 worth of counterfeit currency and resisting arrest in Stillwater; two months later, he pleaded guilty and was given a 90-day jail term with credit for time served, along with an order to pay court costs, an incarceration fee and a $250 fine, Payne County court records show.
