Victim: ID theft caused false arrest

Officials say they don’t
know why the mistake occurred.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — A city woman arrested by Howland Township police on a warrant last month — and kept in Trumbull County Jail four days in error — says she believes she’s been the ultimate victim of identity theft.

Renee A. White, 35, of Parkman Road, says that when Howland Patrolman Richard Mahan pulled over the car she was riding in with Michael R. Thomas, 18, about 2:19 a.m. Oct. 12, Mahan asked her about three false names that came up on the computerized law enforcement identification in connection with her name.

White says she told the officer during the traffic stop that she’s never used an alias.

Specifically, the officer asked her about the name Tammy L. Johnson, who was wanted on an arrest warrant out of Liberty Township on two counts of forgery in the use of stolen checks.

“I’m like, ‘No, I’m Renee White, and I’ve always been Renee White,’” she said.

Mahan then pulled up a picture of White on the computer in the police car.

“I said, ‘That’s my picture and yes that’s my Social [Security number], but I’m not Tammy Lynn Johnson.’ He’s like, ‘Well, you’re under arrest for fraud,’” she said.

“I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ because I’ve never been in any trouble for anything other than driving.”

White contends she continued to argue her case at the Trumbull County Jail, hoping the mistake would be caught there.

It wasn’t.

She didn’t have an attorney, and White said she fruitlessly sought help from family members.

Four days later, she was taken across the street to the Trumbull County Courthouse to be arraigned by Judge Andrew Logan of Common Pleas Court.

She once again said she was not Tammy L. Johnson, and Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor, checked out her story.

He took a photo of White on his cell phone and sent it to Liberty Police Detective Toby Meloro, who had interviewed Johnson during the investigation of the falsified checks, asking whether the woman in the courthouse was the right woman.

Meloro said it wasn’t, and Judge Logan ordered White released.

“We got her out of there as soon as we knew what happened,” Becker said, adding, “It’s a real sad case of how far identify theft can go.”

Becker and other officials say they still don’t know what caused White to be arrested by mistake and are checking into it.

White says she thinks the reason the alias Tammy L. Johnson came up on the computer in connection with her is that she lost a state identification card over the summer at a gas station in Niles. She thinks Johnson may have found it and used it to steal her identity.

Detective Meloro says he doesn’t know whether that happened. The name Renee White never came up during his investigation of Johnson, he said. White says she is not aware that anything was stolen from her as a result of Johnson’s activities.

Chief Deputy Ernie Cook of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department says White’s theory of how she was falsely imprisoned is plausible. He’s aware of cases in which the victim of identity theft has been accused of another person’s crimes. He doesn’t know if that happened here.

The real Tammy L. Johnson, 39, of Madison Avenue in Liberty, was arraigned before Judge W. Wyatt McKay on Wednesday. She is free on $5,000 bond. If convicted on the charges, she faces up to two years in prison.

As for jail officials not realizing that White was not Johnson, Cook said the primary responsibility for arresting the correct person lies with the police officer. “We’re just the holding facility,” Cook said.

Dan Lester, assistant warden at the jail, said jailers working Oct. 12 accepted the explanation Mahan gave that White was the right person because of the alias.

If the police officer tells jail officials they are uncertain of a person’s identity, then jail officials can check further — such as using fingerprints, Lester said. In this case, there is no indication that Mahan or White raised enough suspicion to check further, Lester said.

Mahan could not be reached to comment. But Frank Dillon, assistant Howland police chief, said it appeared Mahan had “bent over backward” to make sure he had the right person by comparing her with a photograph on his computer.

The report from White’s arrest says Mahan identified White as “Renee A. White, and it [computerized identification] showed that there was an active warrant for her arrest.” There was no mention in the report of White’s being arrested because she was identified as having an alias.

“Our officer acted on the information provided,” Dillon said. “Everybody we arrest says, ‘It’s not me.’”

runyan@vindy.com