Thursday, January 27, 2011
St Joseph Man Receives Multiple Calls From Man Impersonating Police Officer
Local law enforcement officials became aware Wednesday that a St. Joseph resident has received multiple calls from a man who was apparently impersonating a police officer.
The victim, a forty-four-year-old resident of Highway 43 South, stopped by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department around 8:00 p.m., asking for documents that he had been told to fill out.
A check revealed that there were no active warrants on the victim. Deputies could find no evidence that anyone from the department had even contacted the resident.
The reporting deputy listened to a voice mail message left by the culprit. In the recording a man who identified himself as “Officer Rasberry from the Lawrence County Jail” told the victim “we have been looking for you for quite some time.”
He stated they had obtained his telephone number from an inmate “so we were going to attempt to contact you to have you pick up some papers to fill out.”
Deputies determined that the call had been placed by an individual with a restricted number at 12:38 a.m. He left a call back number of 931-762-6362, which deputies discovered is the telephone number for the North Lawrence Utility District on Miller Lane.
A second voice message was left at 1:26 a.m. In the second message the caller again identified himself as “Officer Rasberry with the Lawrence County Jail.” In this message the culprit said he was calling on behalf of an “Officer Hagan.” and left a call back number of 931-762-3626, which is the correct number for the sheriff’s department/jail.
In total, the reporting officer found that eleven calls had been placed to the victim from the restricted number, within a one hour time period. The suspect left voice messages on two of those occasions.
Deputies report they were able to confirm that no one from the sheriff’s department had attempted to contact the victim. They determined that the calls were placed by an individual who was impersonating a police officer.
Investigation into the matter is continuing at the current time.
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