A shooting that wounded two people in a Walmart parking lot last week in Fauquier County, Virginia, may have been triggered by an argument over counterfeit money during a drug deal, authorities said Wednesday.
Four people were charged in the Nov. 5 shooting at the Walmart on James Madison Highway in Warrenton, Virginia: 18-year-old Deonte Tyrone Clayton-Warren and 20-year-old Jordan McKinley, as well as a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy who have not been identified.
The four suspects had traveled to Warrenton from the Stafford/Fredericksburg area to buy marijuana, and the transaction was to take place in the Walmart parking lot, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office previously said.
Authorities said Wednesday that they believe an argument broke out after one of the suspects tried to use counterfeit money to buy the drugs, and that led to the shooting. A 20-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were wounded in the shooting.
The four suspects then fled the parking lot, but they were arrested after crashing their car and then running into a wooded area, the sheriff’s office said. The search for the suspects sparked an hourslong manhunt that included a state police helicopter and drones.
The sheriff’s office said they later found counterfeit money inside the white Acura the four suspects were driving.
In addition, a resident who lives near where the suspects later crashed their car also found what appears to be counterfeit money.
Officials said they believe the suspects may also have hidden counterfeit money and possibly a handgun while they were on the run.
If you live near Ritchie Road and Elk Run Road, including parts of Midland Road south of the intersection, and you find what appears to be money or a gun on your property, officials are asking you to call the sheriff’s office at (540) 347-3300.
“Don’t touch it, certainly don’t spend it, and if it’s a firearm, leave it there and report it immediately,” the sheriff’s office said.
