The Halifax County Sheriff's Office arrested Antoine Pierce at his home in Roanoke Rapids, charging him on counts that reflect crimes associated with the ring that occurred in the county, Roanoke Rapids and Gaston, Sheriff Wes Tripp said.

Those charges against the 39-year-old include seven counts of forgery of an instrument, seven counts of uttering a forged instrument, 10 counts of obtaining property by false pretense and nine counts of possession of stolen goods.

Tripp said the possession of stolen goods counts reflect the seizure of stolen templates that were used to make the bogus checks.

Anstead

The sheriff's office also arrested Tonya Anstead, 30 of Roanoke Rapids, for obtaining property by false pretense. Warrants were on file for her arrest by the Gaston Police Department.

These crimes were committed as early as September and continued through late November, Tripp said, and the arrests represent a combined effort with investigation by Roanoke Rapids and Gaston police.

Pierce received a total $40,000 secure bond and Anstead received a $4,000 secure bond. Court dates for both are scheduled for early January and February.

This may be one of the larger counterfeit check rings in recent history. “It would compete with other counterfeiting we've had,” Tripp said.

Roanoke Rapids police are still trying to determine the ringleader in the operation, Captain Andy Jackson said.

He said there remain more reports of bogus checks being made. “We've investigated this before, but it led to other areas. This one is a fairly large one considering the area we live in and that it's locally generated. We continue to work in cooperation.”