PWC Shoplifter Posing As NFL Player Lucky Whitehead ID'd

WOODBRIDGE, VA—Prince William County Police have identified a suspect that impersonated NFL wide receiver Lucky Whitehead after a shoplifting arrest.

Officer Nathan Probus, a spokesman for police, told InsideNOVA the suspect is Deyvon Marquette Newman, 25, of Woodbridge. He is sought on charges of petit larceny, identity theft and presenting a false identification to a law enforcement officer.

Police said they arrested a person named “Rodney Darnell Whitehead, Jr" for shoplifting on June 22. At that time, officers could not ID the suspect, who presented personal information belonging to Whitehead.

Then last month, police said, "Upon reviewing the June 22, 2017 arrest of an individual named “Rodney Darnell Whitehead, Jr.”, the police department is confident that the man charged with petit larceny, and who is subsequently being sought on an active warrant for failure to appear in court, is not Lucky Whitehead of the Dallas Cowboys."

Even as Whitehead's name was cleared, he faced repercussions. The Dallas Cowboys cut Whitehead from the team during the first day of training camp after learning about the charge.

Whitehead, a Manassas native maintained he was not involved all along and lashed out against the Cowboys' action. He told Dallas Morning News. "I was pretty much being called a liar. . . As far as the whole situation went down, I was blindsided. I didn't know about a warrant that came about in the first place. Clearly because I wasn't the person arrested."

Police said in a statement, "Since the identifying information provided by the arrestee during the investigation was apparently false, the police department is working with the Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to clear Mr. Whitehead from this investigation. The police department regrets the impact these events had on Mr. Whitehead and his family."

Whitehead was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets. He grew up in Manassas, playing football at Osbourn High School before being signed by the Cowboys in 2015.

Additional reporting by Patch Editor Skip Wood

Image via Prince William County Police