Posted on 12/09/2007 6:26:51 AM PST by buccaneer81
Law has trouble telling brothers apart Sunday, December 9, 2007 3:33 AM By Mary Beth Lane THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
LAURELVILLE, Ohio -- The four Roach brothers will gather, as usual, at their mother and stepfather's house in the Hocking Hills on Christmas Eve to sing carols.
Wait, make that three of them. Chris Roach will not be there. He is in the Licking County jail.
"As me!" said Rick Roach, indignantly.
Chris, 42, was arrested and jailed as Rick, 43, using Rick's name, address and Social Security number. Chris has done this before. Licking County Municipal Court records show four traffic violations and one marijuana-possession conviction under Rick's name that actually were racked up by Chris.
Not all of them were his, said Chris, interviewed across a glass partition at the jail Tuesday. Troy Roach, 45, also passed himself off as Rick, according to Chris, Rick and their stepfather, Mike Piotrowski. Troy also has masqueraded as Scott Roach, 46, said Scott, Chris, Rick and Piotrowski.
Troy has his own string of offenses under his own name in Licking and Franklin counties, including a drunken-driving conviction. Troy did not return a message seeking comment.
The Roach brothers, with two brothers borrowing the identities of the other two brothers, are an extreme example of name swapping.
But the practice is not unheard of.
"Quite often, it's siblings," said Newark City Prosecutor Doug Sassen. "It's not common, but it's not unusual."
Often, someone steals an identity for financial gain. Then there are instances such as this, in which someone uses another's identity to avoid criminal prosecution, Sassen said.
Posing as Rick, Chris was arrested and jailed on Nov. 28 for 30 days for failing a drug test, a probation violation. As Rick, Chris had been convicted of drug abuse on April 13 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, suspended for a year's probation.
Chris was with Troy on April 13 when a Newark police officer pulled over their van for a traffic stop and found Percocet and methadone pills and a bag of marijuana, according to the police report. Troy gave his own identity and Chris gave Rick's.
Chris admitted his identity to jailers only after Piotrowski called the jail, the sheriff and the probation office on Nov. 30 to complain that Chris was posing again as Rick.
On Dec. 3, the city prosecutor charged Chris with falsification, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Chris has pleaded not guilty.
Chris blamed authorities and said he deserves to be freed. "They falsely imprisoned me under someone I am not," he said with a straight face.
"It was kind of a joke at first, to see if they would go with it. They did. They arrested me under his name, fingerprinted me and booked me in. I went to court as him, to probation as him and then went back to jail as him."
Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp is investigating how Chris could have been processed into the jail masquerading as his brother. Jail officers routinely fingerprint inmates as they are booked into the jail and transmit the prints electronically to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Thorp said.
In this instance, the bureau flagged the prints as Chris', but the notification sent to the jail apparently was mislaid and not seen immediately, Thorp said. He added that he is reviewing procedures to help make sure this does not happen again.
The sheriff said he is now looking into Troy's situation and whether to file falsification charges against him, too, based on the assertions by Chris that Troy also posed as Rick.
"Clearly, we want to send the message, 'Hey, this isn't a game, and it isn't funny,' " Thorp said.
In rural Laurelville, in Hocking County, where Rick lives next door to his mother and stepfather, Rick slapped his driver's license on a coffee table. It is suspended because of infractions racked up by Chris, or maybe Troy, Rick said.
"My record is so freaking bad it's pathetic, but it's not me," he said.
"I didn't know what had happened. I called Troy and Chris because it was hard telling who had used my Social Security number. So Chris finally said, 'I hit some lady.' He said he was going to take care of it."
Scott, who lives in Johnstown, in Licking County, said he is trying to unsnarl a legal knot of his own in Gahanna. The day before Thanksgiving, Gahanna police pulled over a van driven by Troy bearing license plates issued to a different van that is in Rick's name, Scott said. Troy told police he was Scott, said Scott. Scott said he now faces a charge of having fictitious tags, among other charges.
Scott and Rick have been in trouble as themselves. Scott owned up to two drunken-driving convictions 25 years ago. Rick's record in Franklin County Municipal Court includes convictions for disorderly conduct and driving with an open container.
"I've gotten tickets here and there but have never been convicted of anything like drug charges," Rick said.
Scott and Rick said they blame the authorities for letting their brothers get away with identity theft and blame their brothers for continuing to do it.
"I want my record cleared. I want my life back," Rick said.
It might not be so easy, and Rick will likely need a lawyer to help sort things out. He will have to go to court and file a motion asking that previous convictions under his name be rescinded, prosecutor Sassen said.
"Successful prosecution of the falsification charge (against Chris) will go a long way toward Rick being able to clear his name on paper," he said.
And then what?
"How do you stop it from happening again? The answer to that question is, I don't know," Sassen said. "How do you stop your evil brother from using your name and Social Security number?"
mlane@dispatch.com
Just struck me as a bit odd--what state are we talking about here?
And you are correct--white thrash is white trash.....
Why are any of them not in prison?
Ohio ... but there’s a “Licking” in Missouri, too.
I live about a mile from Lick Creek.
It’s possible that there was a “Licking” involved in settling the Midwest, but I think it’s more likely that all the names derive from mineral licks used by wild herbivores.
Yeah, I know it's cutting edge and brand spanking new crime fighting tools rarely used.< / s >
I'm wondering, if I look in the dictionary, will I see Chris Roache's picture with the definition of "chutzpah?"
5.56mm
I notice none of them seem to be too upset with the deal - except when one of the others get something stuck on their record.
I’d also say the local LEO should be up on this scam already and have positive ID for each of them. They all seem to use the jail as a temporary hotel.
(might help their parents too)
First of all, I really want photos. Or wait, maybe I don’t. But wasn’t there a CSI episode about this?
Only on the Federal level, but that was in the 'olden days'. Cons have so many tats now on their arms, an ID number would be useless. So maybe they should consider the forehead option too.
Yes there was a CSI episode somewhat like this. And yes too to no pics. My gag reflex kicks in when I see inbreds.
Naaah, these days it's the insertion of a microchip, just like your dog.
What a bunch of roaches.
The upside of this is that since they all have records that they are continually adding to, it probably drives the brothers crazy keeping track as to which one has the most minor warrant outstanding, so they know whom to try to impersonate during the next run-in with the law.
Looks like a 60’s band.
After Rick gets his name cleared, perhaps he ought to consider moving 1,000 miles away. Then it’d be harder for his brothers to keep blaming stuff on him.
Danny Bonaduce on the right?
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