Suspect Freed After Using Sister’s Name

Using her sister’s name, a woman with convictions for dealing drugs and prostitution waltzed out of the Spokane County Jail on Tuesday after a judge believed she had no prior record and let her go.

Louise Ackaret, 34, was arrested Sunday along with four others in the South Hill drug bust that resulted in the overdose death of a major dealer.

Ackaret has a long criminal history that includes arrests and convictions for possession of controlled substances, prostitution and delivery of crack cocaine.

She told police during the bust that her name was Joyce Boggs, who is really her older sister. She gave her sister’s birthdate and address in Ione, Wash.

Jailers took Ackaret’s word and booked her as Joyce Boggs. Her fingerprints, which would have uncovered the deception, were sent to Olympia, where it takes 30 days to check them out.

Meanwhile, Ackaret appeared as Boggs before District Court Commissioner Vance Peterson, who reviewed her “criminal-free record” in court Tuesday and allowed her to walk.

“She had no warrants, no prior record, no (failure to appear), she wasn’t a flight risk. … I had no basis to hold her,” a frustrated Peterson said when told of the scam Tuesday. “Yikes.”

Although he heard more than 100 cases Tuesday, Peterson immediately remembered the woman he thought was Joyce Boggs.

“She was the only one in the group who didn’t have a prior criminal record,” he said. “It surprised me. I figured she was from a small town and just got herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Peterson said he planned to tell prosecutors about the mix-up and have a warrant issued for Ackaret’s arrest.

The real Joyce Boggs spent Wednesday fighting off a cold and cursing her sister and officials who didn’t catch the impersonation.

She stayed home and screened dozens of calls from friends and co-workers who “heard about my arrest and probably think I’m some big doper.”

Boggs, 37, manages the American Legion in Metaline Falls, Wash. She said she rarely speaks to her sister.

“I can’t believe she would get away with this,” Boggs said. “I would think someone would have recognized her, she’s been arrested so many times before. They made a humongous mistake here.”

Officials said inmates often use fake names when they’re arrested but seldom get away with it. Police and booking officers usually can pick out a phony.

Even if a few fakes slip through the booking procedure, fingerprints will catch their lies, jail Capt. Jim Hill said. Unfortunately, with felony charges, checking fingerprints is a lengthy process and some inmates will get out of jail before their true identities are confirmed, he said.

“If we don’t have any reason to believe they aren’t who they say they are, we’re obligated to allow them bail,” Hill said. “It’s that simple.”

Carrie Johnson, who supervises the identification unit for the jail, said inmates know how easy it is to use someone else’s name and get away with it.

“If no flags go up when they come in here, they can go through the system before we can even figure out who they are,” Johnson said. “It’s scary.”

Hill said people who are arrested and aren’t carrying identification must give their birthdate, address and sometimes Social Security number when they are booked into jail.

On misdemeanor charges, fingerprints are checked immediately and officials know on the spot if the inmate is lying.

“We just can’t check everybody, but we’d like to,” Johnson said. “We don’t have the time or the manpower.”