A woman in Portland, Oregon was working hard to become a DEA agent, but after about a year of going on ride-alongs, sporting an official-looking Drug Enforcement Agency badge, and helping a "federal agent" turn homeless people into informants, she found out she was duped. The "agent" she was training under was actually an imposter.
The gentleman, Robert Edward Golden, took the woman (whose name hasn't been disclosed) to shooting practice, talked about DEA agents "Anderson" and "Luis," and put her through what she thought was a DEA school, even giving her fake credentials. But last week the two were spotted by Portland's Sgt. Matthew Jacobsen, who thought something looked suspicious.
Once the fake agent, after being questioned by police, realized the jig was up, he tried to dupe the officers into thinking it had all just been part of elaborate cosplaying.
From The New York Times:
Suspicions arose last week when Sgt. Matthew Jacobsen of the Portland Police Bureau in Oregon saw a man and woman standing near a silver Dodge Charger with red and blue emergency lights and a tactical vest in its trunk with a "D.E.A. POLICE" patch.
Sergeant Jacobsen asked them if they were federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a federal complaint. The man, Robert Edward Golden, replied that they were indeed "feds," according to the complaint. …
Morgan T. Barr, a D.E.A. agent in Portland, said in the complaint that there were several discrepancies in Mr. Golden's portrayal of the profession: The agency does not provide ride-alongs, and it had no "Anderson" or "Luis" working in its district office. …
Sgt. Jacobsen, who could not be reached on Sunday, found more items in Mr. Golden's possession that burnished his appearance as a bona fide agent, such as handcuffs, badges, holsters and an AR-15-style rifle that was later determined to be a BB gun. …
Mr. Golden told the authorities he had fake D.E.A. patches, which he said he purchased on websites like eBay and Amazon, because he and the woman were "into cosplay," according to the complaint.
As for the Dodge Charger with the red and blue emergency vehicle lights, the complaint said that Mr. Golden told the authorities that he wanted to make others believe that he and the woman were federal agents so no one would bother them near their apartment complex.
It's not clear why Golden went to such lengths to deceive the woman, but if convicted, "the impersonation offense is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000," according to The Oregonian.
