Biker charged with using counterfeit money
A Spokane member of the Gypsy Jokers motorcycle club was ordered held without bond Tuesday after being arrested on federal charges stemming from the alleged use of a counterfeit $100 bill at Northern Quest Casino.
Ronald Jaymax Klump poses a danger to the community and therefore doesn’t meet conditions of release prior to trial on four federal felony charges, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno ruled.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Harrington argued that because of his criminal record going back 30 years, Klump doesn’t qualify for release on bond.
“There’s no question Mr. Klump is violent and a danger,” Harrington said.
The 49-year-old suspect was arrested Thursday at his home at 720 S. Dishman Road in Spokane Valley by agents of the Washington State Gambling Commission, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Washington State Patrol.
Gambling Commission agents identified Klump as a potential suspect after security cameras and employees at Northern Quest identified him as the man who passed a counterfeit $100 bill at the casino May 13.
According to documents filed in U.S. District Court, Klump first attempted to use the bill to buy casino playing tickets from an employee who suspected it was counterfeit. The employee used a counterfeit detecting pen, which left a brown mark on the bill, the documents say.
“Klump then grabbed the counterfeit $100 bill from this same employee and stated, ‘It went through the laundry,’ ” the documents say.
Approximately 90 minutes later, Klump successfully passed the same bill when he bought a gaming ticket from another employee.
After Gambling Commission agents were notified by tribal gambling officials, U.S. Secret Service agents were consulted and they confirmed the bill was counterfeit, matching the description of at least two other counterfeit $100 bills previously passed in the Spokane area, the documents say.
When state and federal agents searched Klump’s home and arrested him on the counterfeiting charge, they also found ammunition, a body armor vest and a half-ounce of methamphetamine.
The illegal drug was found in a “cap with lettering depicting ‘Gypsy Joker’ affiliation,” the court documents said.
In a four-count complaint, Klump was charged with passing a counterfeit Federal Reserve note, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and being a felon in possession of ammunition and body armor.
Klump was in prison from 1993 to 2003 after pleading guilty to involvement in two murder conspiracies.