RENTON, Wash. — An 18-year-old Federal Way man is charged with first-degree theft after police say he stole more than $18,000 worth of out-of-print currency in February.
Renton police were called to the Renton Coin Shop at 101 Park Ave. N. #101 on Feb. 21 for a theft of vintage currency that had just occurred. The shop buys and sells vintage and collector coins and bills.
Probable cause documents said a coin shop employee told police he had been showing the suspect, later identified as 18-year-old Malik J. Mask, vintage US currency when Mask grabbed the bills and ran out of the shop.
The employee gave chase and called 911 to report he had last seen the suspect running north along the Cedar River Trail.
Responding officers said they found a man matching the suspect’s description sitting under a tree just east of the paved trail.
Charging documents said that during a search of Mask’s jacket, the stolen vintage currency was found, along with a check for $4,250 made payable to Mask.
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Mask was booked into the SCORE Jail for investigation of theft.
Officers spoke with an adult man and his mother, whose names were on the check, and learned that their checkbook had been stolen the prior week during a car prowl at a trailhead for the Soos Creek Trail in Kent, court papers said.
The mother and son were shown the check that had been in Mask’s coat and told officers it had been stolen out of their car on Feb. 16, that they did not know Mask, and that Mask had no permission to possess or cash any of their checks, according to officers.
The victims filed a police report with Kent police.
Meanwhile, the vintage currency was photographed and returned to the coin shop, where an employee itemized the 22 bills of stolen currency and their fair market value in a statement to police.
The total value was determined to be $18,172.
Cox Media Group
