Man Gave Brother's Name During Traffic Stop: Sparta Police

SPARTA, NJ— A Netcong man was charged with providing false information to a law enforcement officer after allegedly telling police he was actually his brother, Sparta police said in a statement.

Instead of avoiding trouble, the man was arrested on his brother's arrest warrant before being arrested on his own warrant.

Police first pulled a car over on Route 15 for malfunctioning license plate lights, when the passenger flicked cigarette ashes onto an officer's pants. The officer asked for identification, but the passenger was unable to provide any.

The passenger told police he was Nicholas Mandeville from Netcong; police found a warrant out of Roxbury for that person, and transported the passenger to headquarters.

At that point, the passenger told police he was actually Michael, Nicholas' brother, according to a statement. Police ran Michael's information, and found he was wanted on a warrant out of Hackettstown.

Michael was charged with providing false information to a law enforcement officer, and was lodged in the Sussex County Jail on the criminal warrant.

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