Most people don't want to be in jail but a guy in Provo wanted to be there so badly he refused to reveal his identity to cops. The Utah mystery man arrested on minor charges--now more than three weeks ago--has remained behind bars in Utah while law enforcement tripled his charges. The inmate didn't fall for the 'free phone card' trick.
According to Lt. Dennis Harris at the Utah County Sheriff's Office: "This is really a strange case. He ["John Doe"] just doesn't want to be found."
Actually, it appears Utah's 'mystery man' did want to be found. It seems he just didn't want to be kicked out of those new digs.
The inmate with graying hair and a light beard was thought, by cops, to be in his 60's, busted at the beginning of July for trespassing in a parking garage. Somehow that trespassing translated to three charges against the guy dubbed "John Doe" -- all of the charges misdemeanors. The guy didn't really want to leave Utah or its correctional facility. For more than three weeks, the inmate actively refused to identify himself.
"I've been trying to think from A to Z why he would want to stay here ... why he wouldn't give us any information," Harris at with the Utah County Sheriff's Office had said. "He either has to be wanted by some other state or he could be on some other registry or database that has not shown up," Harris had said. It seems that 'thought' may be wrong about the man described as "fairly well spoken and educated," but very guarded about his identity.
Police had guessed he was from out of state, not from the Provo area or even from Utah at all. The inmate was even provided a telephone calling card by jail officials. Apparently he's no dummy or has seen enough of those cop shows to know better: The mystery man refused to use the calling card to contact friends or relatives.
As it turned out, he guessed correctly -- and was apparently right to be suspicious. Not a lot in life is truly 'free', including phone cards so kindly provided by law enforcement. Lt. Harris said: "He was very aware of what we were trying to do [through providing the free phone card] and he would not give us the slightest bit of information indicating where he was from or anything relating to his family situation."
The inmate who had become the Utah jail's "John Doe" has been described as having a "pleasant demeanor" with correction facility employees and supposedly indicates he's been treated well.
According to the Sheriff's office: "He said the food has been great," according to Harris. There's no reason to believe the Utah jail isn't treating "John Doe" appropriately -- but the food claim may be stretching things a bit. Note: it is legal for police officers to lie during an investigation.
The Utah Sheriff's office has been speculating that the man's reason for refusing to be identified must stem from his avoidance of being discovered by another law enforcement agency. Harris had said: "I realize that sometimes people want to go to jail because they are homeless, have nothing, they are destitute. I've seen that over the years. I just don't get the impression that's the reason. He just doesn't want to be discovered by somebody."
"John Doe" baffled jail officials by alluding to the idea that he's going to need to get out of hte Utah facility shortly, in order to attend to some business. Lieutenant Harris says: "He said there was a point at some time that he would need to get out of jail. That's the closest I can find of what he wants to do. And that makes no sense to me whatsoever."
Police never did figure it out on their own but law enforcement had been receiving calls over the mystery man. And so it came to be: Philip Todd Beavers, age 60, has been sitting in the Utah jail and finally identified -- by family. Officers were right: Their inmate's not from the state -- he's from Farmington, New Mexico. And the guy who sat in jail for nearly a month did finally acknowledge his name and identity to Utah law enforcement, when jail officials or sheriffs presented him with the name of Philip Beavers.
The family's arranging for $1200 bail to get him out of the Utah facility. If it sounds like a lot for 'trespassing', it probably is: Those extra charges, levied by police after the man refused to give up his identity, probably upped the bill substantially.
Family last saw Philip Beavers leave his hometown at the end of June, on June 24. Apparently Beavers had recently lost his job and gotten on a bus to Salt Lake City. Police arrested Beavers a week later on July 1, the man arrested for trespassing in a garage. That single legal charge became three: Utah sheriffs tripled charges, adding "failure to give information to a police officer" and "interfering with an investigation".