A Pike County man has turned to Scioto County Daily News for help in clearing his name after a comment on a post by the Pike County Sheriff’s Office made the worst time of his life even more stressful.
Danny Allen, of Beaver, just lost his wife of 19 years. Now the 40-year-old maintenance man is terrified he’s also going to lose his job.
It started when the Pike County Sheriff’s Office posted a still of some surveillance video of the person they think is responsible for a break-in at the Village Laundromat in Beaver of February 7. The post requested that anyone with information leave their tips in the comments. That’s kind of unusual for a law enforcement Facebook post. Generally, they request that the public call the police station or private message with any information.
Someone commented that Danny Allen was not only the person in the picture but also the person responsible for breaking into their grandparents’ home. Allen says that information spread like wildfire on social media. The post has more than 200 shares which can account for tens of thousands of views. He also says he can easily account for his time when the laundromat was broken into because he was at the bedside of his dying wife, Misty, at a Columbus hospital. Mrs. Allen passed away on February 8 from organ failure caused by sepsis. In fact, her obituary is listed on our website here.
Allen says he immediately called the Pike County Sheriff’s Office to ask if he was a suspect. He says a deputy told him, “’Well, Mr. Allen, if we thought it was you, we would have already have talked with you about it.” He says the deputy said he didn’t know anything about the break-in and didn’t seem to be aware that the Sheriff’s Office even had a Facebook page. The comment was eventually removed.
But Allen fears the damage has already been done. He says he works as a maintenance man at two apartment complexes and he’s scared this incident could cost him his job. “I have trust with these tenants I work with. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m a thief when I go into their home while they’re not home.”
He says that aside from a few traffic tickets, he’s never been in trouble with the law. Allen also says he doesn’t think he even looks like the guy in the picture. “I’m like 140 lbs. and maybe 5’5”. I can’t grow a full beard.” Though he does admit that he sometimes frequents the laundromat since he lives right next to it.
Allen says he hopes people think twice before saying things online. “I could lose my job and everything I have worked for!! I definitely don’t need this stress right now after this tragic situation with my wife. It breaks my heart.”