GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

Offbeat

October 13, 2009

NC man in jail a week for mistaken identity

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a 44-year-old North Carolina man spent a week in jail because he has the same name as a suspect 23 years younger.

The News & Record of Greensboro reported Saturday that Jesse Ray Hardy Jr. of Greenville was arrested Monday, then taken to jail 160 miles away to face charges of resisting an officer, breaking and entering and failing to yield to a pedestrian.

Court officials say the real suspect shares the same name and hometown, but is not related.

The mix-up wasn't realized until Friday, despite court appearances in both Pitt and Guilford counties.

Judge Susan Bray apologized to Hardy as she worked to get him released.

But he didn't have a way home.

Bray, prosecutors, defense attorneys and bailiffs collected $58 to buy Hardy lunch and a bus ticket back home.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Offbeat

NDN Video
Raw Video: Man Rescued From River in China Beyonce Entertains the First Family Celtics crush Sixers in Game 7 Alleged Lego Thief Faces Felony Charges Has Snooki Named Her Baby? Heat Wave Warms Holiday Weekend Inspiration for the class of 2012 Colorado College Student Shot While Trespassing Will Smith & Josh Brolin on "Men in Black 3" 80-Year-Old Skydiver's Nightmare Jump JWoww Sizzles in a Black Bikini Sliders on the Grill Cruise ship crunch Backstage With Beyonce Ultimate Creamy Potato Salad Pope's Personal Butler Under Arrest Jenny McCarthy's New Man Tyler's Classic Coleslaw Britney Spears Under X Factor Fire Flesh-Eating Bacteria Victim Hits Milestone