Man charged with child sex abuse gave name as 'Michael Jackson' when stopped by cops
A South Carolina man who was wanted on child sex abuse charges claimed his name was Michael Jackson in a bid to escape the authorities after he was stopped for a traffic violation.
According to a press release littered with puns put out by the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office, a deputy with the department stopped 56-year-old Kenneth Michael Wright's car after he noticed that the car had some defective equipment.
After the deputy came close to Wright, he also noticed that there was a foamy liquid in between the 56-year-old's feet on the floorboard of his car, and smelled what he concluded was beer from his law enforcement training and experience. When asked for license and registration, Wright reportedly told the deputy he had forgotten to bring the documents with him and claimed his name was Michael Jackson. He even gave a birth date, but the deputy quickly realized that the information was false after it was run through dispatch and came back with no record.
Further investigation soon followed, and the deputy managed to determine that the driver went by the name of Kenneth Michael Wright, who had an active warrant in his name through Berkeley County for Criminal Sexual Conduct with a minor. Furthermore, he also had several warrants from Charleston County for Fraud and Failure to appear.
Social users had a field day with the story, with several giving their hilarious take on Wright's arrest. "If you have an active warrant on you for criminal sexual misconduct with a child, do you really want to use the name Michael Jackson when asked your name by the police? #FreudianSlip," one wrote.
"Take it easy people...when he goes to court he might 'Beat It.' He was in a 'State Of Shock,' 'Can You Feel It'?" a second commented, while another mocked up a Jackson song and posted, "ABC... he hit the blue lights and captured me .... someone send bail to me... it's easy as 123... these handcuffs are real shiny..."
Wright has been arrested and charged with False Information to Police, Open Container of Beer, and Displaying Tags for another vehicle in connection to his bizarre traffic stop altercation, with the sheriff's office hilariously writing, "If you think lying to us makes you a smooth criminal… you better think again."
WBTV reported that he was being held at the Hill Finklea Detention Center in Moncks Corner on behalf of authorities in Charleston County. His bond on the new charges was set at a combined $852, but no bond was set for the child sex abuse charge with a minor, jail records show.