Merle Haggard Photo Courtesy of Capitol Nashville
July 6, 2007 — A Charlo, Mont., man has been arrested for impersonating Merle Haggard's son, Noel Haggard, The Daily Inter Lake reports.
A man police identified as Mark Sams, 48, was signing autographs and having pictures taken with him for a fee Saturday outside the Valley Club lounge in Ronan, Mont., police said. After receiving several complaints, police made contact with Sams and determined he was not Noel Haggard. He told police his name had been changed when he was a child to protect him.
An agent for the Haggard family told authorities that Sams is an impostor and not related to Merle. Sams admitted to signing autographs and posing for pictures using Noel's name but denied accepting money for them. He was arrested on an outstanding Montana warrant for issuing bad checks, and he also has a warrant for his arrest out of Maryland. He is being held at the Lake County Detention Center.
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