A Schuylkill County man is charged with identity theft after police say he gave them his brother’s name during a traffic stop because he’d been sentenced to jail the previous day for driving on a suspended license.
Thomas Colton Jr., 54, of Ringtown, is charged by State Police with one count each of identity theft, a first-degree misdemeanor, and false identification to law enforcement, a third-degree misdemeanor, along with summary counts of driving on a suspended license and for not having working rear lights.
Police say they were on routine patrol around 12:30 a.m. on July 30 in the area of S. Second St. near its intersection with E. Lawton St. in St. Clair when they stopped a black Toyota Yaris for driving without rear lights.
The driver identified himself to troopers as his brother, James Colton, and gave a date of birth of Dec. 22, 1972, according to police. A female passenger was identified through her state identification card. The stop went no further at the time.
On Aug. 10, however, State Police say the passenger called the Schuylkill Haven barracks and asked to speak with the Trooper who made the stop.
In a phone interview that afternoon, the passenger told police Colton was driving her to a friend’s residence on the night of the stop. She said that when the traffic stop ended, Colton got back into the vehicle and told her he had identified himself to troopers using his brother’s name. She told police she did not need to be a part of the incident, which is why she wanted to notify police.
The trooper contacted Colton by phone later that same afternoon. Colton reportedly told the Trooper he provided his brother’s name and date of birth when he was pulled over on July 30. He said his license was suspended and that he was only driving the passenger to her friend’s residence, police say.
Colton also told police he did not give his own name because he had been in court earlier that day and was sentenced to 30 days in jail for driving with a suspended driver’s license.
He said his brother lives in New Jersey and that he has not seen him in years.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29 before Magisterial District Judge Edward Lewis.
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