MUNCIE, Ind. – A man’s bid to convince police he was someone else was foiled by a tattoo – featuring his real name – on the back of his neck.
James Jason Buck, 33, of the 600 block of West Grant Street in Hartford City, was charged Friday in Delaware Circuit Court 5 with false informing and possession of methamphetamine.
He was taken into custody about 7 a.m. on July 23 after authorities received a report of a suspicious man in the area of the Muncie Bypass and McGalliard Road. Occupants of a nearby home indicated a stranger was pounding on their door, demanding a drink.
Approached by a city police officer, Duncan identified himself as 37-year-old Robert Dill of Florida. “Dill” raised the officer’s suspicions by refusing to identify the friends he said he had been visiting locally. He then providing two birth dates and first indicated he was 27, then changed his claimed age to 37.
Arrested on a preliminary count of refusal to identify, Dill was taken to the Delaware County jail, where the officer noticed the name “Buck” was tattooed on the man’s neck.
“Have a seat, Mr. Buck,” the officer said.
Buck turned and looked at the patrolman, then revealed his real name and date of birth.
A few minutes later, jail officers found in Buck’s possession a plastic bag containing a “crystal substance” determined to be meth. Local authorities also determined Buck was the target of an arrest warrant issued in Jay Superior Court, where he was charged with possession of a narcotic drug, unlawful possession of a syringe, resisting law enforcement public intoxication in June 2016.
The Hartford City man – being held without bond – has been convicted of battery resulting in bodily injury (twice), contributing to the delinquency of a minor, driving while intoxicated (twice), possession of marijuana and public intoxication.