Amarillo Police Discover Drugs, Counterfeit Money, And Stolen Documents During Traffic Stop

Monday afternoon around 1:30pm Amarillo police pulled over a car for a traffic violation.

The blue Ford SUV was driven by 38-year-old Stacey Keith Lerke of Amarillo.  The stop was in the area of the 3500 block of Taylor.  During the stop the officer saw a clear baggie of what they determined to be methamphetamine on the floorboard of the car.  Lerke was then taken into custody for the narcotics offense.

During a search of the vehicle officers discovered several counterfeit $10 bills and over 150 identifying documents.  The documents included driver's licenses, car titles, check stubs, checks, applications for license plates, passports, business records and forms, and more.  The authorities also found computer hardware possibly used to produce some of the documents.

Lerke was booked into Randall County for fraudulent use or possession of 50 or more identifying documents, forgery of a government instrument or security, possession of a controlled substance less than one gram, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Investigators will attempt to contact the sources of the documents which are often taken during auto and home burglaries.  The authorities remind you to destroy documents instead of simply throwing them away.

Crime Stoppers' annual "Shred It Day" for document destruction is April 18th.