An 18-year-old convicted felon is accused of impersonating a Department of Homeland Security employee, and it’s not the first time he’s posed as law enforcement.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office was tipped off the Christopher Levins- out of Gainesville- this weekend, when Levins showed up to the St. Johns Youth Academy, claiming to work for DHS. The St. Johns Youth Academy is a Department of Juvenile Justice facility for high risk male teen offenders, and the Sheriff’s Office says Levins had formerly served time there. SJSO Commander Chuck Mulligan says Levins wanted to tell the staff how well he was doing, and in the process he told them he was law enforcement.
Staff at the facility told the Sheriff’s office what happened, including that the teen had a polo with a DHS logo, a DHS badge, a holstered gun, and a truck outfitted with emergency lights and a siren.
“These are the things that keep law enforcement officers awake at night, stories like this,” Mulligan says.
He says it’s not yet clear what Levins’ intentions were, but he was found in St. Augustine Beach and arrested for impersonating a law enforcement officer, possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession of a counterfeit driver’s license. He posted bond Sunday night.
Levins was actually already on bond out of Alachua County for similar charges from about one month ago. Court records show he was arrested on weapons charges and has entered a written plea of not guilty. The affidavit accompanying Levins’ arrest says he claimed online to be an undercover K-9 handler for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. While the FDLE won’t comment on an active investigation, the affidavit says Levins had multiple guns, ammunition for a variety of guns, a baseball cap that said “Sheriff”, a police vest that said “K-9”, an Orange County Fire Rescue jacket, paperwork and other field supplies used by police, logo shirts, a Fire/Rescue badge, and a fake license from Ohio.
The affidavit also indicates Levins was adjudicated in 2014 in Orlando for impersonating an officer, in addition to false imprisonment. Those charges and adjudication came when he was a juvenile, so not many additional details are available at this time.
Mulligan says- in the local case- Levins made his own DHS identification and a fake driver’s license, which is something that’s become easier to do with new technology. Access to emblematic gear, like shirts and caps with police logos, has also increased with online retail.
“People can buy them, they’re just now allowed to act out as though they’re a part of that organization when they’re not. It’s really the actions, not so much the imagery, that is the crime,” Mulligan says.
He says you should get familiar with what the badges and emblems of your local law enforcement look like, so that you have a better chance of spotting a fake. You can also call the law enforcement agency to verify that people who are presenting themselves as officers are, in fact, on duty.
If you’re ever in a situation where you’re being pulled over, but you’re not sure whether the person initiating the call is legitimate, Mulligan says you should put on your hazard lights to indicate that you acknowledge the stop. You can then safely proceed to a populated, well lit area while calling dispatch to confirm the stop. If there are any questions or suspicions, he says dispatch would send patrols to your area to be sure.