A colorado man, who is accused of passing counterfeit bills in North Platte in December, was arrested following a short pursuit on Tuesday.

At around 11:21 a.m., an officer on patrol saw Joshua Murphy driving in a vehicle near Philip Avenue and Poplar Street.

The officer was aware that Murphy had several warrants out for his arrest, including a Lincoln County warrant from the counterfeit money incident.

When the officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, Investigator John Deal says Murphy ran through a stop sign at Poplar and Francis streets and pulled into the parking lot of Allo Communications before fleeing on foot.

The officer was able to get in front of Murphy in the South Platte Terrace Apartments parking lot and Muphy gave up.

Murphy was placed under arrest for the Lincoln County warrant and several warrants out of Colorado.  He was also charged with flight to avoid arrest and having no operator’s license.

Investigator Deal says the forgery charges stem from an incident at Little Caesars in North Platte.

On the afternoon of December 8, an officer responded to Little Caesar’s after it was reported that a male subject had passed a counterfeit $50 bill.

Management reported that a male subject, identified as Murphy, and female pulled up to the drive-thru window and paid for their order with a $50 bill.

When the clerk went to make change, he noticed that the bill appeared to be a fake and handed it back to the subjects, who then paid with real money.

Deal says numerous other businesses reported receiving counterfeit money during this period and interviews conducted with witnesses confirmed that Murphy had been the suspect in the Little Caesar’s case.

A warrant for Murphy’s arrest was issued.