FORT WORTH -- Austin Carpenter was looking for a job Wednesday when his brother called to tell him that his photograph was popping up in media coverage of drug arrests at TCU.
He rushed to his parents' home, where family members were making frantic calls to Fort Worth police to try to clear up the confusion.Carpenter's name and a photo of him were released by police Wednesday as they announced arrests after an undercover drug-buying operation. During the day, the number of arrests fell from 19 to 18.By late afternoon, police said that Carpenter had been named in error and that another suspect had not been arrested and was still being sought.In a phone interview Wednesday evening, Carpenter, who lives in the Dallas area, told the Star-Telegram that a Fort Worth officer had called and acknowledged that the arrest warrant was a mistake."Some detective said, 'Sorry for the mix-up,'" Carpenter said.In a news release, a police spokesman said: "This arrest warrant has been canceled and the individual has been notified of the error and the warrant cancellation.""Obviously, it doesn't make it all right," Carpenter said.Carpenter, 26, said he attended Texas Tech University, not Texas Christian University. He did not know where Fort Worth police got his photo, which he acknowledged was of him. "Maybe it was a high school photo," he said.In the call from police, he said, he was told that an undercover officer in Fort Worth had made a drug buy from someone in a maroon truck who identified himself as "Austin."The officer supposedly checked the truck's license plates, which were registered to a woman whose last name is Carpenter. Subsequently, an arrest warrant was issued for Austin Carpenter."First I freaked out. Now I am in shock," Carpenter said. "The wrong information is all over the news. This is not going to help me in my job search."It could not be learned Wednesday whether police were searching for the "Austin" in the truck.Marty Sabota, 817-390-7411Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
