Defendants often pose as siblings, prosecutor says

YOUNGSTOWN -- Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Ken Cardinal says criminals often pose as their siblings in an effort to avoid prosecution.
"It's happened many, many times," he said. "It's a game that they play."
Cardinal said at least one defendant who has identified himself or herself as a sibling appears each week in Mahoning County Court in Austintown.
He added that many of those defendants are arrested by the state patrol.
Unlike many police departments, the patrol does not have the technology to check the photos of defendants who don't have their driver's licenses when arrested, Cardinal said.
The troopers often charge those defendants based on the names and Social Security numbers the defendants provide, he said.
Cardinal said he believes troopers should be more willing to ask defendants for alternative forms of identification, such as credit cards, if they do not have their driver's license.
State patrol officials could not be reached to comment.