Upper Moreland Township Police Department Photo by James Short.
Yokania Carrie Hunter, 44, of Norristown, is facing felony charges after allegedly being caught trying to use counterfeit gaming redemption tickets at a popular Willow Grove bar.
Officers from the Upper Moreland Police Department were dispatched to Big Heads, located at 601 York Road, Willow Grove, on Oct. 22, at approximately 11:49 p.m. for a report of two individuals attempting to cash fake skill-machine tickets and steal money from staff. The suspects were described as a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a woman in patterned sweatpants.
When police arrived, they spoke with a bar manager in the parking lot, who reported that the pair approached staff with a ticket they claimed was worth $800 and printed from one of the bar’s gaming machines. The ticket was timestamped 11:22:45 p.m. and labeled with the number #2111.
The bar manager told police there has been a growing problem in the area involving forged gaming tickets, according to police. She said the woman, identified as Hunter, had earlier redeemed a ticket worth less than $10. Staff noticed Hunter leave a gaming machine afterward, and another patron began playing. A short time later, Hunter returned with a ticket bearing the same number and timestamp from when the other player was using the machine.
The manager said the ticket immediately raised suspicion. The appearance of the ticket was also different. It appeared shorter than legitimate tickets, the font did not match, and its sequence number did not align with the machine printouts, according to police. The bar manager confiscated the ticket and turned it over to police.
Officers located Hunter in the parking lot, where she reportedly told police she was at the bar to meet someone who owed her money and had been playing the gaming machines. She claimed she cashed a $4 winning ticket before playing again with a man named Ford, ultimately generating multiple tickets, including the counterfeit one.
Hunter was taken into custody at 12:09 a.m.
During processing at the Upper Moreland Police Department, officers say Hunter removed a pink device from her clothing that resembled a portable printer, along with a spool of printer paper. According to police, the paper was consistent with the fake ticket seized at the bar.
Hunter is facing felony charge of forgery and other lesser charges.
Hunter posted bail, which was set at $5,000.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5, 2025, before Judge Thomas P. Murt.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
