Woman accused of using counterfeit money steps forward to clear her name

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - Back in June, police were told that Aurelia Valdez used counterfeit money to try and buy a phone and crashed into a house while running from the sellers. But today, Valdez is telling her side of the story to clear her name.

The chase ended when Aurelia crashed into a house near 32nd and University and was taken to the hospital with a broken pelvis and ankle. She is now in a wheelchair.

One of the men chasing her, now in the Lubbock County Detention Center facing charges of burglary of a habitation and aggravated assault, was 31-year-old Matthew Lott.

More than two months later, Aurelia is telling KCBD that the initial police report didn't tell an accurate story and she has the evidence to prove it, including a new police report

Aurelia says Lott lied to police, reversing the nature of the transaction to make himself look like the victim.

"It made me feel a little angry because I'm not the person who did all this," Valdez said. "You got the wrong person."

"When the guy was looking at my phone, he had the money underneath my phone so once I saw the money in his hand something didn't feel right," she said. "Something felt odd."

She says that's when Matthew Lott and another man handed her $300 in fake cash. Valdez said she didn't feel safe and wanted to get out of there. That's when she asked for the phone back and told the men she was going to her truck to get the charger.

"When I went to the truck, I looked at the money and noticed it was fake so I went in my truck and I took off," she said. "That's when I saw in my mirrors them chasing me."

She said both men were yelling threats at her during the chase.

"It was just so scary," she said. "I kept going and I lost control, I jumped the curb and all I remember is waking up in the hospital."

Valdez said the whole account got mixed up because police were only able to get Lott's side of the story since she was in the hospital in critical condition.

Charges were pending for her until detectives we able to talk to her. She provided evidence that the phone was hers and she had been trying to sell it. Since then, Aurelia has been named the victim and Lott and the other man in the vehicle are now considered suspects.

"Even though they did what they did, I forgive them," Valdez said.

An arrest warrant was issued and Matthew Lott is now in the Lubbock County Detention center on a $75,000 bond.

As for Valdez, she says is happy she got to clear her name, but she is still traumatized and she doesn't think she will sell anything ever again or even get behind a wheel.

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