August 17, 2004
Queens man arrested 3 times for crime he didn't commit
Twenty years ago, a man tried to run over a police officer on 3 different occasions. He was arrested shortly afterwards, but he provided stolen identification and escaped to Canada under the name "Otis Williams."
Ever since, the real Otis Williams, who lives in Jamaica, Queens, has been considered a fugitive. Things started heating up in February 2003 when the warrant squad came after him, and arrested him 3 times in 15 months, even though it was clear he was the victim of identity fraud.
It looks like this saga will finally end now that the actual perpetrator of the crimes, Jean Roland St. Surin, was arrested the other day at the Canadian border while trying to cross back into the United States. This will finally accomplish what Williams' $9 million lawsuit apparently couldn't: it closes the case.
Surin's story is that he only speaks Creole, and so back when he was arrested, he couldn't explain to the cops that he wasn't Williams, and he couldn't understand that he had to return for trial. Why they let him out on $500 bail for trying to run over a cop 3 times is beyond me, but I guess that's water under the bridge now.
The Daily News reported on Otis's plight back in June, after he filed the lawsuit but before Surin was caught.
Source: Newsday
categories:
NYPD
posted by adm at August 17, 2004 11:07 PM
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