Lewis Shaw
A not so clever guy from Palmetto was arrested this weekend after he pretended to be a police officer, pulled over a driver who turned out to be a Tampa Police officer.
According to Bay News 9, 24-year-old Jonathan Charles Stevens was driving a white Chevy Tahoe equipped with flashing red and blue lights when he flagged down a Tampa police officer just after 11 pm in Ybor City, Florida.
“He indicated he worked for the Department of Homeland Security, and the vehicle came back registered to an individual, not a government agency,” Tampa police spokeswomanAndrea Davis told the local news station.
Stevens had a gun and a fake badge around his neck.
The Tampa police officer immediately became suspicious and called backup to question Stevens. The impersonator soon caved and admitted not only that he is not not a cop, but also that he doesn’t have a permit for the gun he was carrying.
Stevens has pulled stunts like this before, Bay News 9 reports. Megan Moorhead told the station that Stevens pulled her over with his white Tahoe last September and then issued her a “warning.”
“It was like he was a real officer,” she said. “He pulled me over in an unmarked vehicle, he had lights and everything.”
Stevens was arrested at that time but is facing much more serious charges now due to the unlicensed gun.
He was booked into jail for false impersonation of an officer, carrying a concealed firearm and unlawful use of a blue light. According to Bay News 9, Stevens was released yesterday morning after being bailed out of jail for $17,500.
The lesson… Don’t pretend to be a cop and make sure the cop is a real cop!
