WASHINGTON — Police arrested a man who used possible counterfeit money at a Fairfax County grocery store and then led authorities on a multi-jurisdictional chase with a pregnant woman and child in the car.
On Monday afternoon, an employee at the Wegmans grocery store located at 11620 Monument Dr. in Fairfax recognized Ricco Darnell Taylor, a 29-year-old who had used counterfeit U.S. currency at the store in the past. Around 4 p.m., Taylor again used suspected counterfeit money to purchase items before he left the store with a woman, police said in a news release Tuesday.
Responding officers followed Taylor, who was driving a Jaguar sedan, onto Government Center Parkway and attempted to stop it, but he continued to drive away and onto Monument Drive. During the chase, Taylor attempted to elude police by driving over medians, driving on the wrong side of the road and ignoring several traffic signals, police said.
Taylor continued through Fair Oaks Mall to Lee Jackson Memorial Highway. On the highway, police attempted to box the car in and it struck a police cruiser. After that, he drove onto the entrance ramp to Interstate 66 when he was finally stopped by police.
A 24-year-old pregnant woman and her 2-year-old were in the Jaguar Taylor drove. Emergency crews transported the woman to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The child was not injured, police said.
Police arrested Taylor, a D.C. resident, and charged him with felony speeding to elude, assault on law enforcement, felony child endangerment and driving on a suspended driver’s license.
The Fairfax County police and the United State Secret Service are investigating the use of counterfeit money, and more charges are possible based on those findings.
Anyone with more information about the case can contact police at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
