South Bay veteran pleads guilty to impersonating a federal officer
Defendant carried a fake badge, pulled over a vehicle and falsely stated to driver he was a DEA agent
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Alexander Taylor pleaded guilty today to impersonating a federal officer, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux. The Honorable Lucy H. Koh, U.S. district judge, accepted the guilty plea.
According to the plea agreement, Taylor, 49, of San Jose, Calif., conducted a vehicle stop using his personal vehicle (identified as a Volkswagen Jetta in other filings by the government) that Taylor had equipped with emergency lights and a siren, similar to a law enforcement equipment. After pulling the vehicle over, Taylor falsely identified himself to the driver as a DEA Special Agent and displayed a fake DEA badge that he had purchased on the internet. According to the plea agreement, Taylor told the driver that he was going to write her a traffic citation; but when the driver responded that she did not believe that DEA Special Agents could issue traffic citations, Taylor left the scene.
A federal grand jury indicted Taylor on July 11, 2019, with one count of false impersonation of a federal officer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 912, and one count of possession of a counterfeit seal of an agency of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 506(a)(3). Under the plea agreement, Taylor pleaded guilty to false impersonation of a federal officer; if Taylor complies with the plea agreement, the remaining count will be dismissed at sentencing.
Judge Koh scheduled Taylor’s sentencing hearing for May 27, 2020. The maximum statutory penalty for impersonating a federal officer is three years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Additional periods of supervised release, fines, and restitution also may be imposed if appropriate; however, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Backhus is prosecuting the case with assistance from Elise Etter. This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA.
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