Original Blog Entry: Pastor who shares name with wanted criminal arrested

truesee — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:10:37 GMT

Shreveport pastor who shares name with wanted Texas criminal mistakenly arrested

Alison Bath

Shreveport Times

August 28, 2010

What's in a name? Shreveport pastor Gregory Jones can tell you that despite what Shakespeare's Juliet may say, calling a rose by its real name doesn't mean it necessarily will smell sweet. In fact, it just may stink and include a stay at Caddo Correctional Center.

Jones was late for an appointment Monday when he was pulled over by a Caddo sheriff's deputy for speeding on Colquitt Road. Jones, pastor of Eden Worship Center on Russell Road, readily handed over his driver's license, insurance card and registration when asked.

I thought: 'I'm going to get a speeding ticket, at worse,' he said.

Soon, another deputy arrived. Moments later, Jones was handcuffed and in the back of a patrol car. Unsure of what was happening, Jones asked deputies why he had been arrested.

They said: 'You are wanted out of Austin, Texas, for parole violations and some other crimes,' Jones recalls. I said: 'That's not me. I've never been to prison. I've never been on parole.'

It seemed Jones shared the same first and last name and birth date with a wanted Texas man.

Deputies, who likely had heard more than one suspect make the same claim, weren't impressed with Jones' assertion of mistaken identity. And, department policy required them to be certain Jones, who has a Texas driver's license, was in fact who he said.

Until you can verify, you can't allow a person to leave, said Caddo Lt. Don Gibbs, who noted the department was sorry for Jones' inconvenience but committed to ensuring wanted criminals weren't accidentally let go.

Jones said Caddo deputies and booking personnel treated him well and assured them they were working to establish his identity. It took nearly eight hours before a photograph and FBI fingerprint check confirmed Jones was telling the truth.

But by then his mug shot and arrest information had been published on the Caddo sheriff's website and rumors about Eden Worship Center's pastor and his criminal doings were circulating, he said.

It's important to me that my parishioners are able to have confidence, said Jones, who is anxious to clear his name and set the record straight.

While cases of mistaken identity such as Jones' aren't common, they do happen occasionally, said Caddo Lt. Phyllis Walker. Incredibly, Jones wasn't the only case this week another man, who shares the same first, middle and last name with his brother, also was arrested and later released after his identity was confirmed.

Jones, who experienced a similar situation years ago, isn't upset with the deputies who arrested him.

They were just doing their job, said Jones, who will not have an arrest record as a result of the incident but did walk away with a speeding ticket.

But he has learned a lesson.

What this has really taught me is to be less judgmental about people who are incarcerated and who plead their innocence because it can happen, Jones said. I'm one of the fortunate ones that it was resolved this quickly.

Gregory Jones is pastor of Eden Worship Center on Russell Road

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