Chris' Christian Blog

False Arrest

"False Arrest" 











The 30 DBC prompt for Friday March 3, 2017 is "On this day in 1903, Barney Gilmore of St. Louis, Missouri was arrested for spitting. What's one of the dumbest things you've ever gotten in trouble for?"

One of the dumbest things I've ever gotten in trouble for was looking like somebody else. There was a man who lived in a city across the river from me who was always getting into trouble. I mean I got into my share of minor problems but this guy was a hardened criminal. He was always getting arrested for serious offenses, making bail, and committing more serious offenses. At the time I was young and traveled everywhere on my thumb. It was still relatively safe to do so then.

One day I was passing through a town north of my hometown and a sheriff's deputy saw me hitchhiking. So he must have thought he could harass me for awhile. He pulled over and asked for my identification. I gave it to him and he radioed it in. Then he started to pull away. Suddenly he turned back in, jumped out of the cruiser, and had a 12 gauge shotgun pointed at my mid-section begging me to give him an excuse. I cooperated fully, wondering what I had done to deserve that. He informed me I was being charged with armed robbery and a litany of other charges. I thought he was insane but didn't argue.

He took me to the jail and placed me in a holding cell while he began the booking process. After a bit he came back in and told me he had made a mistake. He showed me a picture of a man who could easily pass for my twin and showed me the man's identification. The man's first name was different by one letter and his last name pronounced similar to mine but off by two letters. He added that the man's social was the same with the exception of two numbers. So arresting me truly was mistaken identity. He then drove me to my destination, which was 10 miles away.

The funny thing was that I was arrested in this guy's place about five times. I was quickly released of course but the police had a job to do. He finally went to prison and I left the area saving us all a bunch of trouble. .