It was apparently nothing more than a lucky break that led law enforcement to an arrest in a car theft investigation in Oakwood.
Matthew Allen Turner, 33, of Gainesville is accused of purchasing a car in a private sale with 53 counterfeit $50 bills, according to Sgt. Danny Sridej with Oakwood Police.
Turner, using a fake name, met the victim at the Walmart on Mundy Mill Road before New Year's in response to an ad posted on the mobile app "Offer Up."
It wasn't until after the transaction that the victim realized that the bills were fake, as all of them apparently had the same serial number.
Sridej said the bills also didn't "feel right" to the touch.
A few days later, the victim's father happened to be driving through the Clarks Bridge area, and spotted the car parked at a home.
"We were very lucky. We only had a not-very-good video of the suspect (at that point)," said Sridej.
"He just saw a car parked in the front yard of a residence ... and said, 'You know, that looks like the car that was taken from my son.'"
The man called 911, and in another lucky break, Turner happened to be home at the time.
Turner was arrested, and also found in possession of additional counterfeit bills.
He's charged with theft by deception and forgery (14 counts).
