ST. PAUL -- A panhandler in St. Paul falsely claimed he was a relative of the victims of last week's triple homicide in Vadnais Heights, Minn., to try to get money from passers-by, police said.
Police were called to Grand and Snelling avenues at 11:16 p.m. Friday about an "aggressive panhandler," according to a police report.
Niegea L. Carter, 50, told the officer his son had just died and asked if he could be on his way, said Andy Skoogman, police spokesman. The officer asked if he'd been cited for aggressive panhandling in the past, and Carter said he had been cited more than once during the summer.
When Carter was handcuffed and put in a squad car, a couple of witnesses approached, and one asked why he was being arrested. One woman said Carter had told her his sister was killed in Vadnais Heights, along with his niece and nephew, Skoogman said.
On Friday, Justus Kebabe was charged with three counts of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Bilha Omare, 32, and two of their children: son Kinley Ogendi, 12, and daughter Ivyn Ogendi, 9. The bodies were discovered Thursday in their Vadnais Heights apartment.
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The woman told police Carter "was very emotional and asked for money for funeral costs and other expenses that were needed," Skoogman said. The report didn't say whether she believed him or gave him money.
Carter told police he uses "emotionally charged stories" because "they tug at people," an officer wrote in a report. The report also paraphrased Carter by
saying, "He has to do what he has to do to get by."
Police found a glass crack pipe in Carter's pants pocket. Carter was cited for aggressive panhandling and possession of drug paraphernalia. He then was released.
Carter had about $40 in his pocket at the time of his arrest, though it wasn't clear whether the money came from panhandling.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
