Police said that while near Walgreens Pharmacy at 49 South Main Street about 6 pm on Saturday, May 9, a police officer noticed what he considered to be suspicious activity outside, resulting in the arrest of three people in connection with an incident in which $1,200 of counterfeit money was allegedly used to make purchases inside the store.

Police Sergeant Aaron Bahamonde said this week that Sergeant Scott Ruszczyk noticed that two men had gotten out of an auto parked in a parking lot located some distance away from Walgreens and then entered the pharmacy, alerting him that something was amiss.

Inside the store, the two men allegedly used 12 $100 bills to buy $1,200 worth of Walgreens gift cards in various denominations, Sgt Bahamonde said.

The men then walked back to their parked Chevrolet Malibu, in which a driver was waiting, police said.

The driver then proceeded to the Exit 11 interchange of Interstate 84, where police stopped the vehicle, after having determined that counterfeit money had been passed inside the drug store, police said.

Police said they arrested the two men who allegedly passed the counterfeit money each on charges of first-degree forgery and fifth-degree larceny. Arrested were Michael Labeach, 26, of Orange, N.J., and Dnell Fairman-Campbell, 20, of Brooklyn, N.Y., police said.

Police said they arrested the Chevrolet’s driver, Jheanelle Blake, 23, also of Orange, on charges of fifth-degree larceny and conspiracy.

A search turned up some apparently counterfeit bills in the amount of $8,000, police said.

The US Secret Service was called in to help investigate the case, police said.

Police said that Fairman-Campbell was held on $6,000 surety bail for a May 11 arraignment in court. Fairman-Campbell pleaded not guilty to both charges in court. Fairman-Campbell was being held on $15,000 bail on May 12 in the Bridgeport Correctional Center for a May 19 court appearance.

After their arrests, Labeach posted $6,000 surety bail, and Blake was released on $5,000 nonsurety bail for May 20 court appearances, police said.