Danville, VA - A case of mistaken identity has a Danville man trying to clear his name. City officers were holding Michael Barksdale for trying to cash a stolen check, but when they asked for his name, he claimed he was Ruben Cardwell.

Barksdale escaped custody and left police looking for someone else. The real Ruben Cardwell is pretty upset and as we found out, Cardwell actually knows Michael Barksdale and has been mistaken for him before. The two men look a lot alike, but one is wanted -- the other, a victim of stolen identity.

Ruben Cardwell, Victim of Stolen Identity - "My name is Ruben Cardwell, haha."

He might be laughing, but Ruben feels like the joke's on him.

Cardwell - "Now what it is, that has put a scar on me as I'm the bad person, I've done that - when I know I didn't."

What's worse?

Cardwell - "I know him, I know Michael Barksdale real good."

But there's a big difference between them. For one, Ruben says he's an honest man.

Mike Mondul, Danville Police (web) Dept. - "He was on his job, working hard, earning a good a living and here's this knucklehead that steals his identity and gives him a bad name."

Now he worries, when people see him, they'll judge him for a crime he didn't commit.

Cardwell - "I had to let the police department know, you destroyed me in a way."

Mondul - "It certainly was a learning experience. We take the things that we did wrong and some of the things that we did right and we try not to do those again."

As for Ruben, he says he was doing all the right things, but that now he's left with someone else's mess to clean up.

Cardwell - "I want the law to do whatever to bring this person in and I would like to be there to see him, just to face him."

Police are still looking for Michael Barksdale. He was wanted for shoplifting, and detained for trying to cash a stolen check. Now he's also facing identity fraud and escaping custody. If you've seen him, call 911.

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