Police seek man posing as member of Puddle of Mudd

ULLIN, Ill. -- Illinois State Police are seeking an impostor of a rock band member believed to have threatened at least two women.

Around 1:45 a.m. Friday, a man came up behind a woman walking to her vehicle in the parking lot of a Carbondale, Ill., business and held an object on her throat, according to a news release from the Illinois State Police.

When an employee of the business yelled, the suspect pushed the woman down and fled. The woman told officers the suspect said he was Paul Phillips, guitarist for the band Puddle of Mudd, the release stated.

Around 9:50 a.m. that same morning, a man claiming to be the lead guitarist of Puddle of Mudd climbed into a woman's car at a gas station off Interstate 57 near Ullin, Ill. The man told the woman to drive to another location in Ullin or he would kill her with a 9 mm pistol, the release stated.

The woman eventually got out of her car when it stopped near other people, and the suspect fled on foot back to I-57, according to the release. He was later seen getting in to a black, 1980s-style Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck with a red stripe down the side near the bottom of the truck's body.

The truck matched the description of a vehicle linked to the Carbondale incident, where authorities identified the license plate as from Kentucky, according to the release.

The attacker was described as in his 30s, 5 feet 9 inches tall, about 160 pounds with brownish-blond hair and a goatee. He has "extensive" tattoos over both his right and left arms, the release stated.

The suspect has been seen in bars in the Carbondale and Marion, Ill., areas.

Anyone with information on the attacks should call Illinois State Police trooper Thomas Goessman, (618) 845-3740, extension 264; Carbondale police detective Mark Goddard, (618) 457-3200, extension 420; or Carbondale Crimestoppers, (618) 549-2677.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127