Police now think they know Wal-Mart robber’s name

Williamsburg police believe they may have positively identified a man arrested on Labor Day for robbery at Walmart.
The incident happened when a man allegedly tried to steal a headlight at Walmart and then fought with a loss prevention officer before police arrived.
Williamsburg Police Officer Bobby Freeman initially charged the man as a John Doe because he wouldn’t give authorities his name, and then gave authorities the name of Chris Smith, police said.
The suspect had no identification on him, and allegedly smashed his cell phone rather than let police take it, according to his arrest citation.
On Monday afternoon, Williamsburg Police Lt. Detective Wayne Bird charged Richard Ross Roeder, who is also known as Timothy R. McAfee and Charles Lynn McAfee, with making an unsworn falsification to authorities.
Bird said authorities were pretty sure Chris Smith was a phony name when he gave it to police.
Authorities ran his fingerprints through a database in Kentucky, which provided no additional information, Bird said.
He said the suspect appeared in court Monday, told authorities his name was Richard Ross Roeder, and that Judge Cathy Prewitt originally agreed to modify his bond down to a partially secured bond.
Bird said Roeder gave authorities a date of birth, but still didn’t give them a social security number.
He said a search of a national crime database showed Roeder was wanted on some traffic charges in Florida, but that Florida won’t extradite someone for such minor offenses.
Bird said the Florida records indicate that the name Richard Ross Roeder is an alias. Although he is charged under that name, Bird said authorities aren’t sure that is in fact the man’s name.
“I ran a criminal history, and it turns out he has about 15 alias that he is using,” Bird said.
He said Roeder told him at the jail Monday that his real name was Tim McAfee of Tampa, but that he legally changed his name while in prison to Richard Ross Roeder.
“However, the state of Florida has Tim McAfee listed as one of his alias. They have him entered in the computer as Richard Ross Roeder as an alias,” Bird added.
He said Roeder has a lengthy criminal record, including a conviction for robbery, and that he was able to match Roeder up by tattoos and missing finger joints listed in the Florida records.
Bird said he plans to take a copy of Roeder’s prints to the FBI for a search through its database.
“We still aren’t 100 percent sure that is his correct name because he still won’t provide a social security number,” Bird said.
Bird said he informed Whitley County Attorney Paul Winchester Monday afternoon, who then contacted Prewitt.
He said she has since changed the bond back to $50,000 cash.
Bird said that it’s possible that Roeder may be on probation in Florida, which means that he’s not supposed to leave that state.