Update: The Mount Shasta Police Department said that as of April 23 four more people have come forward saying they believe they were pulled over by a young man matching the description of Korey Charles Seago, age 19, who was arrested the morning of April 22 and charged with impersonating an officer. Mount Shasta Police Chief Parish Cross said the reported incidents all occurred within the last month, and the investigation is ongoing.
The Mount Shasta Police Department is asking anyone who may have been pulled over by a 19 year-old Mount Shasta man impersonating a police officer to call and report the incident, according to MSPD Chief Parish Cross.
Korey Charles Seago, age 19, was arrested at 3:58 a.m. on the morning of April 22 after making a “traffic stop” on North Mount Shasta Boulevard. The driver, a Mount Shasta woman, said she became suspicious because the “officer” appeared extremely young and was driving an unmarked dark pick-up truck with flashing lights in the window.
The imposter officer, who was wearing dark clothes and a name badge on his right shoulder, told the victim he had pulled her over because one of her licence plate lights was out, and he asked for her identification. When she gave it to him, he walked away with it for about 30 seconds, then came back, the victim said.
After questioning her about where she was going and what she was doing, he handed back her ID and drove away.
“I went to the Mount Shasta Police Department to report the incident,” the victim said, because one her co-workers had also been pulled over by someone matching the same description the Tuesday before, on April 15.
In response to the complaint, Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Deputies, the California Highway Patrol, and the MSPD conducted a search for the vehicle in the surrounding area.
MSPD Sergeant Joe Restine soon located a vehicle matching the description the victim gave and made an enforcement stop on Lassen Lane just beyond the Interstate 5 overpass as part of the investigation. The driver, Seago, was later identified by the victim as the impersonator who had pulled her over.
Seago, according to the Police, was wearing a uniform from the Mount Shasta City Fire Department, for which he is a volunteer. He was found in possession of a red and white light, a loaded firearm, and a duty belt. He was also found to be under the influence of alcohol, according to Police reports.
Seago, according to a Siskiyou County Jail report, was arrested and booked into jail, charged with impersonation of a peace officer, possession of a loaded firearm in the commission of a felony, misdemeanor possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle, and misdemeanor DUI.
Seago was released Tuesday afternoon on $25,000 bail to reappear at the Siskiyou County Superior Court on May 13.
If you believe you may have been a victim of a similar impersonation, you are asked to call the MSPD at 926-7539.
