Counterfeit cash

Someone gave a cab driver a fake $20 bill early Thursday after he dropped the man off on President Street, city police said.

The driver from Bay Area Cab Co. told police that, at 1:40 a.m. he picked up a man on President Street who asked to be taken to the gas station on Tyler Avenue, where he completed business, and asked to be returned to President Street, police said.

Upon their return, the passenger handed the driver a $20 bill that was ripped in two. The driver initially refused it, but after the man said it was all he had, the driver accepted it and gave him $7 in change, police said.

The driver then went back to the gas station to try to get tape to repair the bill. The gas station attendant tested the bill and found that it was fake, police said.

West County

Copper wire stolen

Thousands of dollars worth of copper wire was stolen from a house under construction in Gambrills Monday night, county police said.

The superintendent for Sturbridge Homes told officers that, at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, he went to the home in the 7400 block of Campbell Drive and discovered someone had broken in.

About $3,000 worth of copper, which had already been installed, had been ripped from the basement ceiling.