A man tried to avoid arrest by giving a Lincoln Parish deputy sheriff a fake name Wednesday.
The strategy did not work.
Justin Oliver Watts, 36, of Bernice, was a front seat passenger of a vehicle that was stopped about 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Watts gave the name Devonte Watts and a 1994 birthday. During questioning, Watts gave two different dates of birth, neither matching the only Devonte Watts on file. He eventually admitted his name was Justin Watts.
During a patdown for weapons, the deputy discovered a bag of marijuana in Watts’s clothing. Watts said the marijuana was the reason he was nervous and gave a false name. A criminal history check showed Watts had a previous conviction for possession of marijuana.
Watts was arrested and booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for resisting an officer by giving false information, second offense possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a controlled substance in the presence of a juvenile. Three small children were passengers in the vehicle.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
