A Tyrone man was arrested for felony forgery and other charges after allegedly providing false identification to State College Police during a traffic stop early Saturday morning.
At about 2:30 a.m., a State College Police officer observed a white SUV turn left from University Drive onto South Atherton Street and proceed to travel south in the northbound lanes.
According to a criminal complaint, the officer conducted a traffic stop and the driver of the SUV provided a Pennsylvania driver’s license identifying him as Steven Gailey. The driver allegedly had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol, and the officer reportedly smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle.
Police say the man admitted to having several drinks earlier in the evening and to having smoked marijuana an hour and a half before he was stopped. After performing ‘unsatisfactorily’ on field sobriety tests, the driver was arrested and taken for a blood test, according to the court documents.
After allegedly affirming to police that he was Steven Gailey, he was then transported for processing. While being processed, fingerprinting identified the man not as Steven Gailey, but as Jeremy Vasas, 37. Police say Vasas’ identity was further confirmed through a prior arrest photo and driver’s license photos. They also reportedly learned his license was suspended.
Police then confronted Vasas about his identity, and he allegedly continued to claim he was Gailey.
Vasas was charged with forgery, a third-degree felony, for allegedly signing his name as Gailey on several occasions. He also was charged with misdemeanor counts of exhibiting a false identification, unsworn falsification to authorities, providing false identification to law enforcement and driving under the influence. He received summary charges of driving with a suspended license and disregarding traffic lanes.
He was arraigned before District Judge Carmine Prestia and is being held at Centre County Correctional Facility in lieu of $75,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 4.
