A Columbus man faces nine years in prison after police said he repeatedly claimed to be someone else, causing police to issue traffic citations to the wrong person.
Aaron K. Sowieja, 27, was ordered held on $250 cash bail at an initial appearance Monday in Columbia County Circuit Court.
Sowieja is charged with three counts of felony identity theft. Each carries a maximum possible initial penalty of three years in prison.
Poynette police say Sowieja gave a false name - but the name of a real person - to police on three separate occasions.
According to a report, Sowieja told officers that he had no identification on him when he was stopped Aug. 20 and again Aug. 25. The officer issued a ticket to the person whose name Sowieja gave to police, the complaint stated.
The man reported to police in August that someone else was using his name, according to the complaint.
When stopped again Friday by Poynette police, Sowieja again gave them the false name but eventually told police his actual name, the complaint stated.
Sowieja is scheduled for a pretrial conference Nov. 25.