Dishwashing liquid causes woman to fall at local business

Substance intentionally poured onto floor, police say

An El Dorado woman received minor injuries earlier this week after she slipped on dishwashing liquid and fell at a local business.

The soap was intentionally poured onto the floor and the incident is being investigated as a misdemeanor battery charge, police said.

At 4:20 p.m., Aug. 11, officers were called to Dollar Tree, 2115 N. West Ave., in reference to a woman having slipped and fallen onto the floor.

Police said the store’s surveillance video showed what appeared to be two black juvenile females squirting dishwashing soap on the floor in a rear aisle near the frozen food section.

The suspects briefly left the area and returned, appearing to watch for people walking by, police said.

After a few customers walked through the soap and did not seem affected by the “slick floor,” police said the girls returned, poured more dishwashing liquid onto the floor and retreated from the area again.

Moments later, the 49-year-old victim walked through the area and her left foot slid from underneath her, causing her to crash down on her right knee and wrist, police said.

They said the woman

then stood up and asked the store employee for assistance.

She was treated at Medical Center of South Arkansas. Police said the woman’s right knee was swollen and she complained of pain in her wrist.

If arrested, the suspects could be charged with third-degree battery, according to a police report.

Counterfeit bills

Police received two reports this week that counterfeit bills were passed at local businesses, the latest in a series of similar reports that have been filed since the beginning of August.

On Thursday, an employee of Chick-A-Dilly, 1201 W. Hillsboro, reported that a man attempted to make a purchase with a counterfeit $100 bill.

The Texarkana, Texas, man told officers he had withdrawn the cash days earlier from a Chase bank in Louisiana.

Police said the man provided a bank statement that reflected a withdrawal Aug. 12. They advised him to check other bills that were dispensed during the withdrawal.

An employee of Hurry Back, No. 4, 3001 N. West Ave., told police Aug. 11 that three counterfeit $20 bills were passed at the business the previous night.

The employee said she discovered the bills in store’s deposits when she

arrived for work on the morning of Aug. 11.

On Aug. 9, three counterfeit $100 bills were reportedly found in the parking lot of Walmart Supercenter, 2730 N. West Ave, and on Aug. 1, the operator of a watermelon stand in the 500 block of East Hillsboro told police that a woman used a counterfeit $100 bill in an apparent ruse to make a purchase.

The woman reportedly used the bill to make a $20 purchase and received $80 cash as change.

The complainant said the woman, who was on foot, asked that the watermelons be set aside until she could return with vehicle to retrieve them but she did not return.

A potential suspect was identified.