Tip: Don't try to pay a fine with counterfeit bills

PANAMA CITY -- A Panama City Beach man was charged Friday with trying to pay a fine at the Bay County Courthouse with counterfeit bills.

According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, when John Sheldon Jernigan, 26, of Kelly Street, gave the clerk at the courthouse $400 to pay a trespassing fine, she noticed the bills looked unusual; many of the bills had the same exact serial number.

The clerk called a deputy to the counter and Jernigan was arrested and charged with 13 counts of uttering a counterfeit bill. The bills, all twenties, were counterfeit, BCSO said

He was taken to the Bay County Jail and booked.