A Haitian man trying to board a flight in Johnstown was arrested after he was found carrying an expired passport and forged documents, authorities allege.
Evens Roseme, 29, who has an address listed as Orange, New Jersey, was arrested 10:36 a.m. Friday at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, in Richland Township.
TSA screeners stopped Roseme when they found his passport had expired on July 26, 2022.
“They did a little research and found he was carrying forged documents,” Richland police Sgt. Scott Conahan said.
Roseme was allegedly carrying a forged Social Security card and a forged U.S. permanent resident identification card also called a green card. He allegedly had stashed in his carry-on luggage equipment to make IDs.
According to a complaint affidavit, the seized documents were in the name of Pierre Francis with a date of birth of July 1977. The forged green card had Roseme’s photograph.
Roseme, who does not speak English, was arraigned after a Haitian Creole interpreter explained the charges to him.
Conahan charged Roseme with two counts of forgery.
“This is an excellent catch on the part of our team,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “One of the most important security measures at an airport is confirming the identify of travelers.”
Roseme was arraigned Saturday by on-call District Judge Mary Ann Zanghi, of Vinco, and sent to Cambria County Prison, in Ebensburg, after failing to post 10% of $15,000 bond.
It’s believed Roseme was headed for another destination when he inadvertently ended up in Johnstown, Conahan said.
Patrick Buchnowski is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat.
Patrick Buchnowski is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5061. Follow him on Twitter @PatBuchnowskiTD.
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