Posted 10:54 pm Wednesday, January 16, 2013
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Jacksonville Police: Veteran who lost dog turns out to be scammer
It turns out that a man who claimed he lost and then reconciled with his beloved service dog earlier this month was in fact trying to run a scam and lied to various people, Jacksonville police said Tuesday morning.
Charles Boothe, 54, told media and others last week that he was reunited with his dog after the canine went missing for days.
At the time, he was living behind a building in Jacksonville, and police confirmed they knew where he was staying. His good friend said the Blackmouth Cur, Fuzzy, left and was eventually found by a man near the Tomato Bowl. Boothe also had a story about how he got Fuzzy, but it was unclear Tuesday morning exactly where he got the dog.
“He's basically trying to tell a story. … And it's all basically just a lie…” Jacksonville Police Sgt. Daniel Franklin said.
“This is basically a way for him to get money, and (there's) no telling what he's doing with it.”
Boothe was arrested Friday and charged with public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, and fraudulent use of identifying information, a state jail felony.
Franklin said Boothe possessed another person's birth certificate, but he is not sure why he had it.
He said Boothe had a criminal history from numerous states as well as various aliases, and he believes the birth certificate was one of those aliases. Boothe was still in the Cherokee County Jail Tuesday morning on a $1,000 bond.
Charles Boothe, 54, told media and others last week that he was reunited with his dog after the canine went missing for days.
At the time, he was living behind a building in Jacksonville, and police confirmed they knew where he was staying. His good friend said the Blackmouth Cur, Fuzzy, left and was eventually found by a man near the Tomato Bowl. Boothe also had a story about how he got Fuzzy, but it was unclear Tuesday morning exactly where he got the dog.
“He's basically trying to tell a story. … And it's all basically just a lie…” Jacksonville Police Sgt. Daniel Franklin said.
“This is basically a way for him to get money, and (there's) no telling what he's doing with it.”
Boothe was arrested Friday and charged with public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, and fraudulent use of identifying information, a state jail felony.
Franklin said Boothe possessed another person's birth certificate, but he is not sure why he had it.
He said Boothe had a criminal history from numerous states as well as various aliases, and he believes the birth certificate was one of those aliases. Boothe was still in the Cherokee County Jail Tuesday morning on a $1,000 bond.
The dog that Boothe identified as his service animal last week was taken to a shelter when Boothe was arrested.
Chuck Bones, commandant with the Marine Corps League Detachment No. 1381 of Jacksonville, said the group was trying to help Boothe get into a local housing facility but couldn't find any evidence Boothe was ever in the Marines Corps. He said they are still waiting on information.
“We want to exhaust all avenues and make sure he wasn't in any branch of the military. We're having fingerprints run on him now,” he said.
Bones, who previously confirmed the man's veteran status, said he had looked under a different name Boothe gave. However, he said he now is working to get to the bottom of the situation.
“We knew something wasn't right. The more we talked to him — it just started raising all kinds of red flags. We found out he wasn't who he said he was, but we're going to make sure he wasn't a veteran of any branch of the military. Once that's done, I will expose (it),” he said.
Police Chief Reece Daniel said Boothe did something similar in Palestine, and anyone who runs into a situation like this should stop and check it out before reacting.
“This kind of person makes it tough on real veterans who need help…” he said.
“Everybody wants to help — I understand that —but take a moment and make sure you're not being scammed.”
Chuck Bones, commandant with the Marine Corps League Detachment No. 1381 of Jacksonville, said the group was trying to help Boothe get into a local housing facility but couldn't find any evidence Boothe was ever in the Marines Corps. He said they are still waiting on information.
“We want to exhaust all avenues and make sure he wasn't in any branch of the military. We're having fingerprints run on him now,” he said.
Bones, who previously confirmed the man's veteran status, said he had looked under a different name Boothe gave. However, he said he now is working to get to the bottom of the situation.
“We knew something wasn't right. The more we talked to him — it just started raising all kinds of red flags. We found out he wasn't who he said he was, but we're going to make sure he wasn't a veteran of any branch of the military. Once that's done, I will expose (it),” he said.
Police Chief Reece Daniel said Boothe did something similar in Palestine, and anyone who runs into a situation like this should stop and check it out before reacting.
“This kind of person makes it tough on real veterans who need help…” he said.
“Everybody wants to help — I understand that —but take a moment and make sure you're not being scammed.”
