#DiegoCagara #Crime #Police #BethlehemPolice #Counterfeit
BETHLEHEM — A 29-year-old Guilderland man was arrested on Monday, Dec. 3 for using counterfeit U.S. currency in Craigslist transactions, evading arrest, and engaging police in a vehicle pursuit.
Adam N. Ruf was named a suspect back on Nov. 20 after a town resident tried selling an item on Craigslist, but received several hundred dollars in counterfeit U.S. currency, and reported it to the Bethlehem police.
As part of an investigation with Capital Region Crime Analysis Center and the U.S. Secret Service, the latter of which teamed up with Bethlehem police to try selling another item to the suspect, Ruf showed up to that meeting and agreed to purchase it with over several hundred counterfeit dollars again.
An undercover police officer was conducting the transaction.
When police tried to arrest him, Ruf managed to flee and drive his vehicle towards them, almost hitting a Secret Service agent. This resulted in a car chase through Bethlehem, Albany, and Rensselaer; the police stopped the pursuit in Rensselaer though due to Ruf’s reckless driving.
Ruf and his vehicle were later found by the police at a Guilderland residence a few hours later, and he was taken into custody without resisting arrest, with the help of Guilderland police and the Secret Service.
For his actions on Nov. 20 and Dec. 3, Ruf was charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon, scheme to defraud, petit larceny, unlawfully fleeing a police officer, reckless driving, vehicle and traffic violations of failing to obey a police officer, speed in zone, speed exceeding the state limit, and passing in a no-passing zone.
He was arraigned before Judge Ryan Donovan at the Bethlehem Town Court and remanded to the Albany County jail without bail. He has a scheduled return court date of Friday, Dec. 7 at 9 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.
Looking ahead, Bethlehem police advises people who are purchasing items from online in a physical meeting, like in this case, with some tips:
- Always meet the other person in a public, well-lit area with other people around
- Get as much information as you can about the other person
- Have a partner with you during the transaction as a witness
- Note the other person’s contact and vehicle information, like a phone number and plate number
- Have a counterfeit currency detection pen as a way to check that the received money is legitimate.
Anyone with information about this event, or was a victim of a similar occurrence, should call the Bethlehem police at 518-439-9973.