|
Impersonation of a Police Officer
By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Monday, July 18th, 2011
 Ventura County Sheriff's Department On June 25, 2011, a Thousand Oaks resident reported that he was driving in the city of Thousand Oaks when a male subject in a black Nissan pickup truck stopped him. The truck was equipped with red and blue flashing lights, similar to equipment on law enforcement vehicles. The subject was also dressed in clothing and possessed equipment similar to that of an actual law enforcement officer. During the contact, the subject had the victim exit the vehicle so a search could be conducted of the victim’s vehicle. After the search was completed, the victim was allowed to return to his vehicle and drive away. The victim later discovered that two credit cards were missing from his wallet. Therefore, the victim reported the incident to the Thousand Oaks Police Department. Detectives from the East County Major Crimes Unit began an investigation into the incident. Evidence was discovered that one of the victim’s credit cards was used at several locations, from Los Angeles County to Santa Cruz County. Video surveillance was obtained from some of the transactions, which identified Craig Voss as being the person who fraudulently used the victim’s stolen credit card. Voss was later identified by the victim as being the person who stopped him and impersonated a police officer. During a subsequent investigation, Camarillo Police Detectives developed evidence that indicated that Voss had been involved in two residential burglaries and one attempted residential burglary in the Camarillo Springs area. Voss has never been employed as a law enforcement officer. Detectives contacted and later arrested Voss for a variety of criminal charges, including impersonation of a police officer, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and residential burglary. Voss is currently in custody at the Ventura County Main Jail on $20,000.00 bail. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is committed to safeguarding the relationship we have with the communities we serve. We suggest that if a citizen becomes concerned about contact with a law enforcement officer, he or she should ask to see the officer’s department photo identification. If this does not relieve the concern, we suggest calling the appropriate agency to verify the officer’s employment status. Location: Thousand Oaks, CA / Camarillo, CA |
