The $20 bill that instigated the arrest of George Floyd and its tragic consequences may not have been a fake – and if it was, Floyd would have never intentionally used counterfeit cash, his roommate claims.
Floyd’s roommate of four years, Alvin Manago, 55, exclusively told DailyMail.com that Floyd was a stand-up guy and if he did use a counterfiet bill at the store before his death, it was ‘unintentional’.
‘I’ve never known Floyd to use any counterfeit money. If he tried to pass along a counterfeit $20 bill it was unintentional,’ Manago said. ‘He probably didn’t know the money was fake.
‘I’m just not sure why the store employees didn’t just tell him it was a fake $20. They all knew him them. He was a regular customer.’
Manago met George Floyd, 46, when they worked together at the Conga Bistro Bar and Grill. Floyd worked security and Manago worked as a bar back. Manago says they had been roommates for almost four years and considers him one of his best friends.
Floyd died last Monday after being killed during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit $20 at a local market.
George Floyd’s (right) roommate of four years Alvin Manago, 55, (left) tells DailyMail.com that Floyd would never use counterfeit money intentionally
‘I’m just not sure why the store employees didn’t just tell him it was a fake $20. They all knew him them. He was a regular customer,’ Manago said. Pictured is the Cup Foods store where Floyd allegedly tried to use the fake $20 bill
Floyd lived with housemate Alvin Manago at this apartment in Minneapolis, Minneapolis. The property is owned by Floyds former employer Jovanni Thunstrom
Cell phone video captured former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for several minutes after he was handcuffed. Floyd died hours later at a local hospital.
Former police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested last week on a third degree murder and manslaughter charges, but Manago believes this is just the beginning.
‘I want to see all of the officers arrested,’ he said. ‘The other officers protected the situation even after George was unconscious.’
Manago also has issues with the probable cause statement.
Manago said he wasn’t aware of any pre-existing medical conditions listed in the probable cause statement for Floyd.
The arrest warrant states that ‘the autopsy revealed no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation. Mr. Floyd had underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death.’
‘I’ve never known Floyd to take any prescription medication apart from some pain pills on one occasion after he was recently released from the hospital. He never mentioned to me about having any medical problems or high blood pressure,’ said Manago.
Manago also said that Floyd barely drank alcohol.
‘He maybe had a shot or a beer. I’ve never seen him drunk or use drugs,’ he added.
Choking up, Manago said Floyd was a good guy who had turned his life around. ‘He didn’t deserve to die this way. Floyd needs justice,’ he said.
Manago said he never knew Floyd to use counterfeit money and the transaction must have been unintentional
Floyd died on Memorial Day as he was arrested by four police officers over allegedly trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. He was seen in a video pleading that he couldn’t breathe as white officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against his neck
‘Floyd would be against the violence and looting. He wouldn’t want people looting and burning buildings in his name. He didn’t promote violence,’ said Manago.
‘He’d be disgusted with what’s going on in the country. I don’t want the looting and rioting attached to his name, he wouldn’t want that.
‘Floyd needs justice. Floyd didn’t deserve to die that way he did.’
Manago also says that Floyd had been exposed to someone who lived with them who had tested positive two months ago for COVID-19. However, he does not believe it had anything to do with his death.
‘He went to the hospital a few months ago, he was sluggish, throwing up and had diarrhea and complaining of stomach pain. He spent a few days in the hospital and then came back home,’ said Manago.
At about the same time, Manago’s fiancée tested positive for COVID-19. Manago says that he was also tested but the results came back inconclusive. He wasn’t sure if Floyd was ever tested for the virus but said he displayed all of the symptoms of having it.
Derek Chauvin, 44, was arrested Friday on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, which has sparked violent protests
Manago said, ‘The health care workers told me that there was no reason to come back for another test since we lived with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus and have been exposed to it. So we should just treat it like we have it and self-quarantine.’
After Floyd was discharged from the hospital he came home and rested. Manago said he never found out exactly why Floyd spent time in the hospital, but is convinced they both had coronavirus.
As DailyMail.com exclusively revealed, Chauvin has been moved to one of the nation’s most secure prison to ‘ensure he’s not murdered behind bars’ according to law enforcement sources.
Chauvin was arrested last Friday and housed in the Ramsey County Jail in nearby St. Paul, Minnesota. On Sunday afternoon, he was transferred to the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, then hours later transferred yet again to a correctional facility in Oak Heights, Minnesota – the state’s only Level 5 maximum security prison.
Commissioner of Corrections Paul Schnell said Chauvin was moved to prison because of concerns about coronavirus and the huge influx of people being booked into Twin Cities jails on public order offenses.
‘First and foremost, we have a COVID situation. Second of all, a large number of people could be booked into Hennepin County Jail,’ Schnell said.
It’s highly unusual to lock defendants up in prison before they have been convicted, however officials did something similar in the case of disgraced Minneapolis officer Mohamed Noor who shot dead a woman in 2017 while responding to her 911 call.
‘The move to DOC custody was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure he is safely held and after concern about space in the jail due to large numbers of arrests related to the unrest over the last few nights,’ a spokesman said.
‘The DOC also took custody of former officer Mohamed Noor during the time he was in custody before being officially committed to our custody at sentencing, after a similar request in that case.
‘The processing of his [Chauvin’s] transfer to OPH, including the taking of photos, in being completed this morning. He will appear, with official photos, on the public database of inmates after that process is completed.
‘He is being held in administrative segregation outside the general population of the facility.’
Derek Chauvin has been moved to Oak Park Heights Prison in Minnesota (pictured), a maximum security prison
Administrative segregation, a form of solitary confinement known as ‘in the hole’, is employed when inmates are deemed to be at grave risk of being attacked by other prisoners or because they pose a significant danger to others.
According to recent data released by the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the Oak Park Heights Prison currently houses 297 murderers, 69 sexual predators and eight kidnappers.
Some 46 percent of the prison population is black.
The 160-acre, rural prison is carved into the side of a hill and has been featured on the National Geographic show America’s Hardest Prisons.
Cells are 7 by 10 feet with cement slab bed and toilets and sink made of steel so they can’t be broken off to use as weapons.
The reinforced windows are said to be so secure that it would take 12,000 hacksaw blades to cut though the steel bars.
Chauvin will be held at the prison until next Monday, June 8th where he is scheduled to appear in a downtown Minneapolis courtroom for the first time since his arrest.