A traffic stop in Upper Salford over the weekend led to the arrest of three Philadelphia area residents accused of attempting to defraud a gas station in the township. The state police arrested Jennie Sherre Rogers, 39, of Croydon, John Andrew Cope, 35, of Philadelphia, and Nicole Devine-Rubin, 27, of Feasterville-Trevose following the Dec. 22 incident.

            All three face one felony forgery count and related misdemeanor counts for receiving stolen property. Rogers, the driver, is accused of providing false identification to a law enforcement officer and related counts. She was also cited for driving without a valid license and proper registration.

            Devine-Rubin has been charged with possession of an instrument of crime, a misdemeanor. Cope also faces two drug-related counts, according to information posted on a state judicial website.

            At 7:11 p.m., a trooper claims to have observed a black Chevrolet Malibu leave the US Gas Station, located on Route 63, and travel south on the road. After determining that it was operating with a suspended registration, the law enforcement official followed the vehicle – that allegedly touched the white fog line multiple times and fluctuated its speed drastically while on a large straight stretch of roadway – for a short time before conducting a traffic stop, according to the police criminal complaint filed in the Red Hill court of District Judge Maureen Coggins.

            While speaking with the occupants, the trooper claims to have observed a printer and laptop crudely wired together in the vehicle's back seat.  Based on his previous knowledge of fraudulent receipts being passed at local convenience stores–related to a scheme to increase profits from gambling machines–the trooper's suspicions were raised, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

            The driver informed authorities that the trio had traveled from Philadelphia to a mall in Montgomery County to do some Christmas shopping when they made a detour to the gas station for a drink and to play the slot machines. The gas station owner reported that Devine-Rubin and Cope had won a prize on the skills machine, but the receipt they used to claim their prize was much greater than the computer had recorded.

            According to the legal document, an investigation determined that Rogers waited in the car to deface and reprint the receipts on the printer, hooked up in the back seat of the vehicle.

            The preliminary arraignment for all three defendants occurred the following morning. Cope was remanded to Montgomery County jail after Jenkintown District Judge Juanita A. Price set his bail at $5,000 monetary.

            Price set bail for Rogers and Devine-Rubin at $5,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing for all three defendants, before Coggins, is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, according to the judicial website.