Jailed for Months, 2 Men Cleared in Look-Alike Case

Two men jailed for nine months awaiting trial on robbery charges were cleared when a pair of look-alikes were arrested and confessed, police said.

One of the men falsely accused, Thomas Sheffield, 38, had been identified by his mother as one of the robbers in photographs taken by a security camera, authorities said.

His co-defendant, Edgar Rushing, 19, after being shown one of the pictures by an investigator, had asked: “Where did you get the photo of me?” Assistant State Attorney Douglas Molloy said.

They were cleared this week after Kenneth Burns, 24, and his brother, Robert, 21, were arrested and confessed to the armed robberies of three convenience stores and a grocery store between Nov. 15 and Dec. 28, 1986, Molloy said. The brothers were taken into custody and jailed on weapons and robbery charges.

Molloy said he was preparing to prosecute Sheffield and Rushing when an informant told him the two did not commit the robberies.

Rushing, arrested in December, was released in August on $2,000 bail. Sheffield, arrested in January, was released in October on a court order Molloy helped to arrange.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Ergle said he does not know what, if anything, the sheriff’s department can do to make amends.

“If there has been any monetary loss suffered by either of the defendants, that will have to be determined through a civil proceeding,” he said.