ID theft victim: 'Never thought he'd haunt me again'
Dan Wheeler says someone he met briefly years ago is sabotaging his record, rolling his name through the criminal justice system and stamping him with a label he despises.
He says Jason Ellis, a sex offender from Oregon, stole his wallet and identity 15 years ago, and has been peddling Wheeler's ID to police officers since.
"Nobody knows where he is at," he said. "As far as we know, he's either dead or he's got somebody's name, or runnin' free."
Wherever he is, Ellis' alleged misdeeds caught up with Wheeler, and by complete surprise.
"He (the police officer) says, 'You have a warrant for your arrest.' I says, 'From where?' He says, 'White Center.' I says, 'Where's White Center?'" Wheeler said.
First, Wheeler learned about an arrest warrant linked to a car accident he knew nothing about. He went to court to clear his name. Then surfaced a theft case Wheeler didn't commit, but appeared up on his record.
Wheeler alerted authorities, went to the fraud department, had his license flagged. In each case, he has to show his tattoos to prove he is Dan Wheeler.
"Never thought he'd haunt me again," said Wheeler of his recurring troubles. "I didn't know he was going to be attached to me the rest of my life."
Then came real heartbreak.
Late last year, Wheeler and his wife tried to rescue a 5-year-old child from a family situation and bring him into their home. But Wheeler says Child Protective Services took the child away because a background check pointed to him as a sex offender.
"You'd like to find the guy and slap around, do something. Drag his butt to jail and say, 'This is the guy who did all this. Take his stuff off my record,"' Wheeler said.
Inside Wheeler's home awaits a stack of new clothes for a new job. The tags are still attached, waiting for Wheeler to learn whether another background check will flag him as a sex offender. It's a humiliating cycle Wheeler has gotten used to.
"It's a dead end. I mean, just hit a brick wall. Nobody knows what to do," he said.
Law enforcement officers say once a name is used as an alias, it is listed on that criminal's permanent record. It is, essentially, listed for life. Wheeler says he's willing to take the fight to Olympia to change that and reclaim his name.