Man posed as an FBI agent while directing traffic in Charlotte
Drivers slowing for a recent wreck on East W.T. Harris Boulevard might have noticed a man in an FBI shirt waving them along.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say the man is an imposter.
After the wreck last Friday, police began questioning who the man was. Later, CMPD seized an AR-15 rifle and police-style blue lights and sirens, along with an in-car computer mount similar to what CMPD officers use. The man also had a tactical vest labeled “FBI,” a fake police badge, an emergency communications radio and FBI shirts and clothes.
Officers say they noticed the man on W.T. Harris Boulevard after arriving at the wreck scene. They say he drove up in a dark blue Chevy Impala with blue and red LED lights.
The man identified himself to police as “Christopher Jones with the FBI,” according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department news release. He gave the same name and title later when he approached an off-duty CMPD officer a couple of hours after the wreck, CMPD Lt. Alan Greene said. Greene says the man told the officer he worked in South Carolina as a sex-trafficking investigator.
But that’s not true, CMPD officers allege.
After growing suspicious the man was with the FBI, officers began investigating.
They say the man’s real name is Antoine Adolph Jones and CMPD says its officers learned Jones had been spotted in Ridgeland, S.C. The problem there? Police allege Jones was also impersonating a law enforcement officer in South Carolina.
Jones, according to police records, had a home in Charlotte. CMPD officers used a search warrant and seized firearms and the Chevrolet Impala outfitted with blue lights, as well as other equipment Jones used.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police charged Jones with impersonating a law enforcement and unlawfully using red and blue lights on a vehicle. Both charges are misdemeanor offenses. Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office website shows Jones was arrested the day after visiting the wreck scene in Charlote. He has since been released on bail.
Officers say they don’t know what Jones’ motivation was.
“It really sickens my heart,” CMPD Capt. Brad Koch said at the news conference. Of all the impersonating-an-officer cases police have investigated in recent years, Koch said, “This one was so brazen and blunt.”
Police offered these tips for when a car with blue and red lights tries to stop you:
▪ Pull over in a well-lit area.
▪ Turn your hazard lights on.
▪ Call 911 to verify a real officer is stopping you.
Police also urged anyone with information about this case to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.