Penn State Fake ID Case – Providing Someone Else’s Identifying Information
Posted in False Identification,General on January 12, 2015
According to an Ohio newspaper, a man was being investigated for a criminal offense, and the man, hoping to avoid criminal charges, provided a fake ID to the police. More specifically, the suspect provided the identifying information of another person, including the other person’s social security number. As irony would have it, the social security number belonged to a man that had outstanding warrants for a charge of aggravated menacing. Instead of avoiding criminal charges, the man was taken into custody based upon the outstanding warrant.
Penn State Underage Charge Grew to Fake ID and False Incrimination
I recently had a case in which a client was charged with Underage Drinking despite the fact that he had no interaction with the police whatsoever. Turns out that a “friend” of my client was stopped at a Penn State football game and questioned about an Underage Drinking incident, and, after telling the Penn State police officer that he did not have his ID on him, the “friend” provided identifying information for my client. The “friend” knew enough of my client’s identifying information, including date of birth and majority of the mailing address, to convince the officer to issue the citation. Of course the citation was issued in the name of my client and not the name of the person that actually committed the Underage Drinking violation.
The good news is that my client retained an experienced State College criminal defense attorney, obviously me, to contact the officer and straighten out the matter. The officer was able to view the client’s photo through the Penn State system and discover that my client was not the person with whom the officer had met at the Penn State football game. Further investigation led to the discover of the actual party, the “friend,” and now the friend is facing multiple criminal charges, including False Identification to Law Enforcement, Falsely Incriminating Another Person, along with Underage Drinking. The friend took a relatively minor Underage Drinking charge and morphed it into a misdemeanor case.
State College Fake ID Cases Resolved Via ARD Program
Regrettably, many Penn State students make the mistake of lying to the police about their identity when they are caught doing something illegal. I talk to many parents that tell me that their child is a “good kid” and that the criminal conduct is outside the norm. I explain that I understand that good people sometimes make bad decisions. The good news is that the law and the Centre County court system actually recognizes that not every criminal charge should result in a conviction.
In my experience, some Fake ID, False Identification to Law Enforcement, and Falsely Incriminating Another Person cases are resolved via participation in the first time offender program known as the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program. The Centre County ARD program allows a person to avoid a conviction by successfully completing the program. The program generally imposes various requirements, such as community service, counseling or treatment programs, and payment of ARD costs and fees. After completing the program, the person is eligible to have the charges dismissed and then expunged from the government’s records.
If you have been charged with a criminal offense, you should contact State College criminal defense attorney Jason S. Dunkle for a free case review and consultation.