BY KEITH EPPS
There have been times in recent months when Rodney Maurice Morton probably wished he had another name.
Twice in the past seven months, the 41-year-old King George County resident has been arrested for offenses that police later determined had been committed by another area man with the same first and last name.
In the end, Morton maintained his clean criminal record. But the snafus have cost him time, money and embarrassment.
"It's just ridiculous for something like this to have happened twice," said Morton, who works for the federal government.
According to court records, Morton was arrested in December on an assault and battery charge.
Morton said he showed up at Fredericksburg police headquarters after learning there was a warrant.
He said he explained that he didn't even know the victim and told them the suspect was probably the other Rodney Morton, but was arrested and taken to a magistrate's office.
That case was finally dismissed on Feb. 7 in Fredericksburg General District Court, court records show. Morton said the victim confirmed that he wasn't the one who assaulted him.
Morton thought that whatever led to the mistake had been cleared up, but, in April, he was indicted by a Fredericksburg grand jury on a more serious charge, distributing cocaine.
Morton said he was at work one day when his daughter called and told him King George deputies had their home surrounded.
The deputies were serving a warrant that had been faxed to the Sheriff's Office by Fredericksburg.
Morton said he got on the phone with officers and told them they had the wrong man. The case was finally dismissed earlier this month.
He never pulled any jail time as the result of the erroneous arrests, but Morton said he had to pay a lawyer and take time out of his schedule to fight the charges.
More importantly, Morton said, is the hit on his reputation. He said a number of people have told him they saw his name in an indictment list printed in the newspaper.
He said he's now concerned that the same mistake could be made a third time.
Fredericksburg Police Capt. Rick Pennock said his department is taking internal steps to make sure nothing like this happens again to Morton or anybody else.
He said the first warrant city officers served on Morton had come from another locality. Pennock said he doesn't know how the wrong information got on that warrant.
However, that put Morton's information in the city police system. And because of a clerical error, Pennock said Morton's information ended up on the cocaine indictment that was intended for someone else.
"We realize that nobody wants to be wrongfully arrested, and we don't want anybody to be wrongfully arrested," Pennock said.
Capt. Steve Dempsey of the King George Sheriff's Office said his office has "flagged" Morton's name in their system.
He said that means they will make extra checks before serving another warrant on the King George resident.
"He's really had a tough time," Dempsey said.
Morton grew up in Stafford County and has lived in this area his whole life. He said that about 12 years ago, police came to his home in Stafford looking for the other Rodney Morton.
Fortunately, he said, one of the officers who showed up knew the other Morton and he was never arrested.
It was unclear yesterday whether the other Rodney Morton has been located or charged with the offenses.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com