I'd read that he was *charged* with possession and another crime back in 1998, but there is no mention of him being convicted with either of those incidents. The only conviction I've seen was the armed robbery, with no shots fired, and that was in 2008 (the conviction came in 2009), and he only had to serve 4 of his 5 year sentence. There had been no incidents mentioned between 1998 and 2008, and no incidents mentioned between 2009 and last week.
Definitely not what you'd call a "model citizen" but it looked like he was sincerely trying to improve his life legitimately, getting a job, which ended only because the restaurant he worked at had to close due to COVID-19. Not because of anything he'd done. And - everyone who was interviewed who worked with him and knew him recently felt he was a hard worker, eager to improve his lot in life, and not prone to violence.
As for the actual reason he was arrested last week - there was no indication that he knew in advance he was "passing" a $20 bill. We'll never know if he knew that it was fake now, because he's dead, and can't admit to it or deny it anymore.
|