New Jersey man pretended to be his own ‘twin’ to avoid court dates: report

He also claimed to be legally blind, but an officer spotted him in the parking lot asking strangers for a ride around the corner, where he would then take over after driving a block away, according to a report.

A New Jersey man blamed a twin who didn’t exist for his missed court appearances for traffic tickets, but authorities finally caught on to him.

Court officials say Olawale Agoro used a fake name to get his court dates postponed, posing as a nonexistent twin named “Tony” to get new court dates, and now faces charges of hindering apprehension, resisting arrests, and false swearing, according to a NorthJersey.com report.

He used that tactic several times, fooling a municipal court judge and court clerks, until authorities realized he didn’t have a twin.

It’s not uncommon for relatives to try to come in to get a court date postponed for a summons, but Agoro was coming in on his own to get the date postponed.

It all started July 31 when a police officer pulled over Agoro, 58, and issued him five different summonses related to motor vehicle violations. He showed up on Sept. 19, but identified himself as Tony, and said he was legally blind. However, the officer the pulled him over was in the courtroom and recognized him.

After his court appearance, the officer found out that Agoro had been asking strangers in the parking lot to drive his car around the corner, and then Agoro would take over as the driver, according to the report.

The officer then pulled Agoro over again and issued three more traffic tickets, and impounded the car that afternoon. Agoro admitted he wasn’t blind in order to get his vehicle back, but Maywood police then asked the Motor Vehicle Commission to see if Agoro was telling the truth about his other claims.

He went to court clerks on two later occasions again pretending to be his own twin, asking for grant adjourments, claiming that Agoro was actually in Nigeria because their father had recently died. The clerk granted the adjourments, but Agoro missed the court date again, according to the report, resulting in warrants issued for his arrest.

Agoro again appeared in court claiming to be Tony, but the court clerks called the police, who questioned him and then figured out that Tony did not exist. Agoro was arrested and sent to jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.