Fake Deputy Takes Joy Rides in Black Tahoe

Oregon Man Impersonates Deputy While on Test Drive

JULY 8, 2014

 

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon man impersonated a sheriff's deputy while taking an SUV for a test drive and pulled over a motorcyclist, authorities said.

Anthony McGuire, 39, of Salem was arrested Saturday after the motorcyclist and two employees from the car lot sensed something was off and called real deputies, Sgt. Chris Baldridge of the Marion County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

Baldridge said McGuire visited Good Fellows Auto Sales three days in a row and told workers he was a sheriff's deputy. Each day, he wanted to test drive a black Chevrolet Tahoe.

On the third day, two suspicious employees decided to join the customer for the drive.

Just down the street from the lot, McGuire suddenly lowered the window and yelled at a motorcyclist to pull over. The motorcyclist obeyed and McGuire told him he was being stopped for speeding.

Baldridge said McGuire had no badge or identification, and his manner led everyone else to conclude he might be a fake. The employees from Good Fellows Auto Sales, who could not be reached for comment, told investigators that the motorcyclist had gone around the SUV because McGuire was driving very slowly.

"They said the motorcyclist really wasn't doing anything wrong," Baldridge said. "He was acting for his own safety to get around the slow-moving vehicle."

Baldridge said McGuire confessed to impersonating a deputy and was taken to the county jail. He was charged with criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor.

Baldridge said McGuire did not explain his actions.

Investigators think McGuire might have pulled over other drivers. Anyone who might have been a victim has been asked to call the sheriff's office.

McGuire was released from county jail Monday afternoon. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer, and a court date has not been set.

It was not mentioned whether or not the deputies inspected the man's underwear for suspicious signs.

Public records show he was arrested in December 2011 for unauthorized use of a vehicle. A contemporaneous article in the Albany Democrat-Herald says McGuire allegedly stole a car from the Marion County Courthouse and drove it to an Albany mall.