Young man accused of impersonating deputy to impress girl

MARION COUNTY, FL (WESH/CNN) – An 18-year-old in Florida allegedly stole his uncle’s police uniform, patrol car and gun in an attempt to impress a girl.

Isael Lima, 18, lives with his uncle, a deputy in Marion County, FL. Investigators say that when his uncle left town for the weekend, Lima broke into his uncle’s room and took his uniform and gun.

"He was trying to impress his girlfriend, and he dressed up in the uniform initially and drove over to his girlfriend's house to show her, and it just went from there,” said Director Paul Bloom with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators say, in uniform, Lima broke up a fight and called for backup from real deputies. When he met with a sergeant, he identified himself as his uncle.

But come Monday, his uncle called that same sergeant.

"The name rang a bell with that sergeant, and he said, ‘I just met you last night. What happened? You weren’t out of town.’ And they put two and two together,” Bloom said.

Body camera video showed Lima wearing the uniform, and investigators say when he was questioned, Lima admitted to making a traffic stop in the patrol car while his friend recorded it.

"It does show Mr. Lima dressed in one of our uniforms, in our vehicle, pulling over some citizen and giving them a verbal warning,” Bloom said.

The sheriff’s office says this is serious, fake law enforcement puts the public in danger and Lima was also taking a huge risk.

"He's not doing anything in a very safe manner, and you think of the what ifs. What would happen if a person wanted to fight him, shoot him?” Bloom said.

Lima faces multiple charges, including impersonating a law enforcement official and armed burglary.

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