Pot deal with fake $100 bills goes south in Rohnert Park

A pot deal gone bad in a Graton Resort and Casino parking lot led to a minor crash early Tuesday morning and the arrest of both men involved, CHP officials said.

The investigation began shortly after midnight when a CHP officer spotted a parked silver Chevrolet SUV facing the wrong way near the Golf Course Drive on-ramp, Officer Jon Sloat said. As the officer spoke with the Chevrolet’s driver, Dorrel Bolton, a Ford SUV pulled up - apparently returning to the scene of a minor collision with the Chevrolet, Sloat said. The CHP did not provide Bolton’s age or hometown.

The investigation revealed that Bolton and the driver of the Ford, 20-year-old Craig Kirk of Rohnert Park, along with several passengers in both vehicles, had met earlier at a Graton Casino parking lot, Sloat said.

A passenger with Bolton, 31-year-old Jacoby Williams of Georgia, had given Kirk about $4,500 for two pounds of marijuana, according to Sloat. But Kirk noticed the $100 bills passed in the transaction appeared to be fake.

Kirk tried to stop the Chevrolet as Bolton drove away, and then got in the Ford and followed him, Sloat said. Kirk tried to get in front of the Chevrolet on the Golf Course Drive on-ramp onto southbound Highway 101 in order to stop Bolton, and the vehicles collided, according to the CHP.

Officers smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the Chevrolet, and noted that two bags of pot were in plain view in the rear cargo area, Sloat said. More pot was found elsewhere in the vehicle, he said.

Kirk told the officers that he initially left the crash scene but then returned, hoping to get police assistance getting the marijuana back, according to the CHP investigation.

Officers arrested Williams on suspicion of marijuana possession and passing counterfeit currency and Kirk on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale.

Williams remained at the Sonoma County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of $5,000 bail.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.