A man who claims to be a homeless Army veteran has been seen at a north Morgan Hill intersection asking for money for bus fare to leave the state, but passersby and witnesses say his story doesn’t add up.
Furthermore, without being able to confirm the man’s true military service history, a South County veterans organization said complaints of local people falsely representing themselves as veterans in order to take advantage of services have been on the rise lately.
The African-American man, who said he is 62 years old and lives in San Jose, admitted arriving to the area of Cochrane Road and Madrone Parkway in a late model white Dodge Charger, after initially saying he travels by public transportation.
He was sitting in a narrow median strip in the middle of Madrone Parkway at Cochrane Road, facing the southbound lane on Madrone. He was holding a hand-written, poster-sized sign identifying himself as a disabled veteran Thursday afternoon. The sign said he was seeking bus fare to get to Seattle.
Responding to phone calls from area residents complaining about the man, who refused to give his name, Times staff approached him and asked about his purported plight and whether reports of him arriving in the Charger were accurate.
The car was seen parked in the McDonalds parking lot on Cochrane Road before the Times contacted him, but the vehicle was gone minutes after the conversation was over.
“Are you trying to get me in trouble?” the man asked, visibly perturbed to learn the reporter knew about the Dodge.
While the man was talking to the Times, a motorist turning from Madrone Parkway onto Cochrane Road stopped to give him several folded $1 bills.
Earlier in the 10-minute conversation, the man said he typically travels by VTA bus and Bay Area Rapid Transit. When asked about the car, he said it belongs to his wife who is employed. He added that he doesn’t always drive the car. He began nervously looking at his watch after he was asked about the car.
Also earlier in the conversation, the man said he served in combat in Vietnam in the U.S. Army in 1968, and he was only looking for enough money – $179 – for a bus ticket to Seattle to be with his family.
“I’m not going to stay here,” said the man.
However, the same man has been seen in that area periodically for at least the last two months, according to witnesses. And some locals who routinely frequent the area think it’s clear his story doesn’t add up.
The owner of the Chevron station at the intersection of Cochrane Road, Jags Singh, said he has seen the man there almost every day for “a couple of months.”
“He’s a liar,” Singh said. “He comes and sits there, saying (he needs) money for a bus ride, but he never goes anywhere. It’s not safe to have people like that sitting on the street begging for money.”
The Times is still waiting to hear back from the Morgan Hill Police Department on whether officers have been alerted to or are aware of the situation.
Bob Carter, 56, a homeless man who is often seen in the area of the Wal-Mart parking lot on Cochrane Road, said he has seen the man and an associate who Carter thinks is the man’s brother.
Carter thinks both of them are lying, and said they have been working the intersection for a few months, claiming to be homeless veterans the whole time.
On one occasion, the other man – who was not seen in the area Thursday – threatened Carter and his dog, a pit bull mix who accompanies him as he asks passing motorists and Wal-Mart shoppers for spare change.
“It pisses me off,” Carter said when asked how it makes him feel to see panhandlers telling false stories to take advantage of sympathy of strangers just to make a few dollars.
Carter has seen both men taunt him by flashing wads of cash from across the parking lots and intersections in the area.
“(The public) will start thinking everybody is a scam,” Carter said.
The adjutant of the American Legion Gilroy Post 217, Ray Sanchez, took issue with the 62-year-old San Jose man’s claim that there are no services available for homeless veterans. The Veterans Association hospital on Great Oaks Boulevard in San Jose is one place to start.
“If he’s homeless there are services,” Sanchez said. “There’s services we provide – money or hotel accommodations for people in dire straits.”
The American Legion post has heard an increasing number of complaints from local residents about suspicious homeless people, Sanchez added.
“We’re getting a lot of people who claim to be veterans, and we check them out and their information just doesn’t pan out,” Sanchez said. “They’re just out for free money and free accommodations.”
Carter doesn’t claim to be a veteran, but he said he has been homeless for about 26 months. He has “given up” seeking help from shelters and other service providers because they have restrictions on dogs like his.
He was working for a repossession company that went belly-up, and lost his house when his son got into trouble with the law.
Carter added he has worked as a carpet cleaner, driven tow trucks for a living and has worked in sales.
“I look for work every day,” he said.
He added that since he became homeless, he has been blessed by the generosity of strangers who pass by him near the Wal-Mart parking lot – including a passerby who gave him a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which he uses for shelter every night.
Other than that, he said he makes just enough money panhandling to eat every day and pay for other bare expenses such as hygiene supplies.
“I was given a Jeep I can’t even afford to drive,” Carter said. “But people have been very helpful. I want to thank everybody that’s helped me.”
