Kansas City, Mo. ? Prosecutors in three Kansas counties admit they likely erred in arresting and jailing a Missouri man for 12 days in a burglary scheme, but said Monday he might not be too far removed from the actual criminal.

Dan Casterton, 36, of Springfield, was charged in Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties after authorities concluded he was the man burglarizing homes by impersonating a water department employee.

All three counties have dropped the charges, but Casterton’s statements have led prosecutors to believe they may not have been far off.

“There is more information to this case than meets the eye,” said Deborah Owens, the special projects director in the Leavenworth County Attorney’s Office. “I’m sure he knows who did do it.”

Casterton seemed to agree. “I have a pretty good idea, but I don’t want to point the finger.”

Neither prosecutors nor Casterton would say anything more about whom they suspect.

Casterton’s ordeal began June 17 with an early morning phone call from his sister. She told him his face was plastered all over the Internet and he was wanted by the police; he thought she was joking.

“When they put me in the handcuffs and put me in the squad car, I knew it was no joke,” Casterton said. He was charged in Leavenworth County with aggravated burglary; prosecutors in Johnson and Wyandotte counties soon followed suit.

“I was appalled,” said his fiancee, Allynda Worcester. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Worcester and Casterton were set to wed July 4, but his imprisonment forced a delay.

Casterton’s attorney, John Withee, said the mix-up stemmed from a police mug shot of a man who claimed to be Casterton — an identify theft that authorities have not confirmed. The description of the suspect — tattoos, rotten teeth and brown eyes — didn’t match Casterton, but a closed-mouth head shot showed facial similarities, Withee said.

“The basic problem is one of identity theft,” Withee said. “They simply had the wrong guy.”

Worcester and Casterton’s friends attempted to trace a paper trail of receipts proving he could not have been in the places he was accused of burglarizing.

Last Wednesday, when it became clear Casterton was not the man they wanted, Leavenworth County dropped the charges against him. Johnson County followed a day later. Wyandotte County dropped its charges Friday and Casterton was set free.

“It kind of ruined me,” he said of his arrest and jail time. “It’s going to take a little while for me to heal from all this.”

Casterton said he had received an apology from Johnson County officials. A message left Monday with the county prosecutor was not immediately returned.

Jerome Gorman, a senior trial attorney for Wyandotte County, said Monday his county’s investigation was ongoing. He would not say whether Casterton was still considered a suspect but said, “We’re not prepared to make any kind of apology until we feel we have everything resolved.”

When asked why it took his office two days longer than the prosecutor in Leavenworth County to drop the charges, Gorman said it takes time for information to flow from county to county. Nothing about what happened to Casterton, he said, should cause the public to question the criminal justice system.

“If they’re going to lose faith in the system anywhere, what about all these guys that are acquitted at jury trials when it’s clear they committed the crime?” he said.

For now, Casterton is focused on getting back to work and rescheduling the wedding he missed. But he says he also wants restitution for his jail time.

“I feel like they owe me something because of what they put me through,” he said. “They already had me convicted before I was even brought in.”