Man Tries to Swap Stolen Money for Coins

CLEVELAND – The need for clean money gave him away. A bank-robbery ring was cracked when police spotted a man changing hundreds of dollars in dye-stained bills for quarters in a drive-thru car wash coin machine, the FBI said.

Stephen C. Jackson, 35, arrested Aug. 18 in Ohio, was charged Tuesday with conspiracy and bank robbery in a suburban Westlake holdup, the FBI said.

Jackson was arrested when police spotted him at a car wash feeding ink-stained bills into a changer. The money from the robbery was stained red when a dye pack exploded.

When an officer approached Jackson, he ran across a parking lot, leaving a trail of quarters dropping from his pockets. Police found $457.50 in quarters weighing 23 pounds in his pockets.

Police also found about $2,185 in bills on him and in his car.

Jackson’s wife and another man also were charged in the holdup and the wife, the second man and a third suspect were charged in a Cleveland bank robbery.