Police probe a case of his taken identity.

• Author: Breznick, Alan
• Position: Tar Heel Tattler - Mark Conrad Rendina accused of identity theft

Mark Conrad Rendina fancies himself a Star Wars Jedi knight, rocketing to the rescue of planets and princesses. At least that's how the 33-year-old UNC Chapel Hill grad student portrayed himself on his Web site.

So you can imagine his surprise when he was arrested at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in May and charged with stealing his former UNC mentor's identity. Obi Wan Kenobi never had to put up with that kind of humiliation.

Prosecutors say The Force isn't with Rendina. In fact, they have accused him of attempting to morph into Walker Long, an award-winning researcher who advised Rendina on his master's thesis in public health and collaborated with him on at least two research papers before they fell out. Despite repeated calls and e-mails, Long wouldn't elaborate.

Prosecutors charged Rendina with felony counts of financial-identity fraud and obtaining property by false pretenses. They say he swiped Long's Social Security number and obtained a UNC identification card in Long's name but bearing his picture. He then established accounts in Long's name at a computer store and a Mail Boxes Etc. outlet, both in Chapel Hill, and bought a computer while posing as Long. He also set up credit-card and cell-phone accounts under Long's...