Ponoka RCMP are saying sorry after wrongly accusing a man, who had his identity stolen, of multiple crimes.
Police say a man misrepresented himself when he was arrested on March 16.
Cpl. Curtis Peters, RCMP media relations said the man provided identification of someone else and held himself out to be that other person throughout the entire time he was in custody.
“We found out, when we were contacted by the real man. Somebody had impersonated him,” said Peters. “He’s a victim not a suspect. We regret his name was produced like it was in our media release.”
Miles Appendrodt was wrongfully identified in the Monday police release from Ponoka RCMP. He is not accused of crimes from the incident and police apologized for the mistake in a subsequent media release.
The man who police had arrested was released from custody following a hearing. Peters said they have since identified the man and a warrant is being sought. Charges have not yet been sworn so the man can’t be identified to the public by police.
Police have added charges of personation and possession of identity documents to the charges the man faces.
He and two others were arrested on March 16 following a crash near Ponoka. Police said the arrests cleared investigations in communities throughout Central Alberta including Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail, Blackfalds and Sylvan Lake.
A 46-year-old from Innisfail and a 51-year-old from Red Deer face numerous charges and remain in custody.