A Ringgold man wanted for his role in a counterfeiting scheme was arrested by the Georgia State Patrol in Dade County and transported back to Catoosa County, police say.

According to the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office:

Michael Blake Tucker, 26, of Ringgold was extradited to Catoosa County on Tuesday, Aug. 28, on charges of probation violation and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Tucker also has charges pending from the Georgia State Patrol after he allegedly was involved in a motor vehicle accident over the weekend and fled the scene in Dade County.

Ringgold police had been searching for Tucker for more than a week after he was implemented in a counterfeiting scheme.

Tucker’s girlfriend, Ashley Davis Grooms, 35, of Mountain Creek Road in Ringgold was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 22, for conspiracy to commit a felony for her part in the currency counterfeiting operation.

Davis was released from jail on a $5,000 bond.

Davis, an attorney with a law firm in downtown Ringgold, was questioned by police after they received a tip that Davis and Tucker were printing fake $5 and $10 bills from the home and passing them at area businesses.

“We received information in reference to the counterfeiting of the currency being done at a home within the city limits,” said Ringgold police chief Dan Bilbrey. “Detectives then conducted interviews followed by a search of the home.”

During questioning, Davis admitted that she was aware that Tucker was possibly counterfeiting from within the home, and also stated that she believed he was using a her newly purchased computer and scanner to do so, reports show.

“Ms. Davis stated that she had been given some of the money that Tucker had processed to examine and give her opinion as to what she thought of the quality, and so on,” Bilbrey said. “Ms. Davis also stated that she had never actually seen the counterfeiting take place, but admitted that she believed it had been going on for several weeks.”

Tucker planned on attempting to pass the bills at the Chattanooga Flea Market, Davis told detectives, and had already passed a $10 bill at the Ringgold Hardee’s on Aug. 5.

During the search of the residence, detectives recovered the computer and scanner that Tucker was using for the alleged operation, and also collected multiple clippings on the floor where it appeared the counterfeit money had been cut from the sheets of paper it was manufactured on, reports show.

Davis told police she did not report the alleged activity before being questioned because she felt threatened by her Tucker, who has a criminal history and who had recently been released from prison.

“She (Davis) stated that she thought she could change Tucker with guidance, and ultimately she had been personally threatened by him not to disclose his criminal activities to law enforcement,” Bilbrey said.

Davis was arrested in May on drug charges after police found cocaine and methamphetamine in home of her and her then-husband Sean Grooms.

Davis, who has been licensed to practice law since 2003, did not return calls seeking comment.

Although Davis is currently in good standing with state bar association, Georgia rules of professional conduct say that the state bar can discipline an attorney following a felony conviction or a misdemeanor conviction involving moral conduct as it pertains to practicing law.