ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – An 18-year-old Gainesville man accused of impersonating a Department of Homeland Security employee was arrested Saturday night, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.
Christopher Leon Levins faces charges of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of a counterfeit driver's license and impersonating a law enforcement officer, the Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies said a staff member of the St. Johns Youth Academy reported that a former inmate at the facility stopped by about 9 p.m. Saturday, claiming that he now worked for Homeland Security.
Levins was wearing a gray polo shirt with a Homeland Security emblem on it, and had a Homeland Security badge and holstered gun on him, deputies said. According to the report, he drove up in a pickup truck rigged with a siren as well as red and white emergency lights.
"He had a counterfeit driver’s license. He had a fake identification for the Department of Homeland Security," SJCSO Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan told News4Jax.
Police later found Levins at a restaurant in St. Augustine Beach.
Investigators discovered that Levins is not employed by Homeland Security.
In addition to three felony convictions, investigators also found Levins had been arrested in Alachua County last month after tips came in that he was impersonating a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent.
Levins was booked Saturday into St. Johns County Jail before being released Sunday evening after posting a $7,500 bail, deputies said.
Gil Smith, News4Jax crime and safety analyst, noted law enforcement normally uses blue lights and deputies said Levin's vehicle had red and white lights.
Smith said that's a clue if someone ever has concerns. If an officer is in an unmarked car or not in uniform, it's OK to go to a more public area or call police to let them know what's going on, Smith said.