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A Knoxville man said he was scammed by a Maryville man impersonating military personnel, and according to surrounding law enforcement agencies, this was not the Maryville man's first scam.

James Peter Schuder, 42, East Harper Avenue, Maryville, was arrested by Alcoa police officers on a charge of criminal impersonation. He was free on a $1,000 bond pending a 9 a.m. Thursday hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court.

According to an Alcoa police report, Officer Brett Romer responded at 3:59 p.m. Friday to the report of a Knoxville man who was scammed out of money. Mark A. Keen, 48, Knoxville, told Romer he picked up a man "wearing military fatigues, BDU (Battle dress uniform) desert camo(uflage) and a red beret," with the name "Greene" on his uniform. The man was carrying a gas can on the corner of Alcoa Highway and Topside Road and told Keen that he needed gas.

"Mr. Keen gave him a ride back into the city where the man advised him of a terrible story stating he was trying to hop a flight to Boston before being deployed to Afghanistan," Romer reported.

The man said he had "just arrived back from Iraq," and his girlfriend was pregnant and also had a restraining order against him. Keen said he asked the man if he would rather have gas or help getting a flight, and the man said he wanted to catch a flight.

Asks for $100

He asked Keen for $100 for baggage fees and a flight ticket, and Keen gave him the money, the report said. Keen then went into the Airport Hilton to get his change from the man, but said the man "disappeared and never returned," leaving his gas can in Keen's vehicle.

After receiving information that the man may be staying at The Family Inns on Alcoa Highway, Officer Israel Hernandez stopped a vehicle driven by the suspect when he was pulling out of the hotel onto Alcoa Highway. The man identified himself as "James Greene Schuder," but later said his name was James Peter Schuder.

Officers said that the man did not have identification on him, told them three different locations of his driver's license and later admitted to Sgt. Phil Russell that he did not have identification, the report said. Officers retrieved his information from the hotel, where he signed his name as "James Greene."

Although Schuder was now wearing a red shirt, gray sweatpants and black combat boots, Keen confirmed that Schuder was the man who disappeared with his money. Officers noted that Schuder had a "high and tight" military haircut and his boots were freshly polished. Schuder admitted to Hernandez that he was wearing army fatigues earlier that day, the report said. Romer said Schuder is not active in the military.

"Mr. Schuder then asked if he was to give Mr. Keen $100, 'would it settle this,'" Romer reported.

Shoulder dislocated?

While cuffing Schuder, Hernandez said that Schuder had said his shoulder had been dislocated and he was on the way to Blount Memorial Hospital when the traffic stop occurred. According to officers, he was traveling the opposite direction of the hospital when stopped.

During the investigation and while en route to the jail, Romer reported that Schuder showed no physical signs of being injured. Schuder also told two different stories on how he injured his shoulder.

Once at the Blount County Jail, Romer said he "observed Mr. Schuder now standing with his shoulder high in the air as if dislocated." A jail nurse asked Romer to take Schuder to the hospital to have it checked.

Romer said he later spoke with a Maryville police officer who said he "had the same issues with Mr. Schuder, both scamming folks for money as well as stating his shoulder was dislocated." The officer told Romer to contact the Monroe County Jail for further information, the report said.

'Long history'

Romer made contact with a Sweetwater police officer who said Schuder "had a very long history of stating he had a medical ailment to keep himself from going to jail. (The officer) also stated that Mr. Schuder had history scamming folks for money in Sweetwater and Monroe County while pretending to be military personnel."

The officer also told Romer that Schuder had the ability to dislocate his own shoulder, which could be confirmed by a Monroe County doctor. the report said. The officer said a hospital in Virginia Beach, Va., had also seen Schuder regarding this issue.

When Schuder was later taken back to the jail, he told a Maryville officer that "his shoulder never hurt, that it was his neck that was in pain." Blount County Jail staff said Schuder became combative at the jail and attempted to injure himself on more than one occasion, forcing staff to restrain him.