BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Authorities say a 27-year-old Gulfport man posed as a dead boy's father to recover his towed car without paying.
Matthew Ladnier IV was jailed Sunday in Harrison County on a misdemeanor false pretense charge. It was not clear if he had an attorney.
Biloxi police investigator Carl Short tells the Sun-Herald (http://bit.ly/RXOBNB ) that Ladnier was questioned and his truck was towed Thursday after complaints that he was asking people to donate for the funeral of a boy hit by a truck Tuesday.
He says Ladnier was warned against posing as Blake Terrell's father.
Police say Ladnier was charged after getting his car without paying by telling towing company employees he was Terrell's father and couldn't pay for his son's funeral.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
