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More guilded than Golden.


workswithseed

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https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/02/alleged-dea-imposter-in-portland-took-woman-on-ride-a-longs-had-her-flash-fake-badge-to-find-informants-among-homeless-people-complaint-says.html?utm_campaign=oregonian_sf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&twclid=11492016814288560131

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according to a criminal complaint.

Now Golden is facing federal prosecution, accused of impersonating a federal agent.

The woman with Golden was not charged as she said Golden had issued her a DEA badge, had taken her on nightly “ride alongs” to do surveillance, helped her practice shooting and promised she’d soon be training with other agents, even naming them as “Agent Anderson,” “Agent Luis,” and “Agent Garcia,” the complaint says. She told an investigator she’d been in training to be a DEA agent for a year.

After Golden was arrested, he told investigators he had taken the woman to speak with homeless people to try to develop confidential informants in case “something happened” to him, according to the complaint.

She’d flash her DEA credentials when they would approach the homeless people, he said, according to the complaint.

Golden and the woman were initially detained at Southwest 13th Avenue and Columbia Street on Wednesday. The sergeant removed a holster from under Golden’s jacket and a replica firearm, according to investigators. The couple were then taken to the DEA’s Portland office and questioned.

Golden told investigators that he and the woman were into “cosplay,” or costume play, and had bought the fake DEA badges and other credentials online, according to the complaint.

Golden said he didn’t want anyone to bother him or his friend around their apartment complex and used the fake DEA gear for “protection,” the complaint says.

Sometimes, he told investigators, he used the red-and-blue police lights on the Charger to “get through traffic faster,” and once held up his badge and yelled, “Police!’ to try to break up a fight, according to the complaint.

Also in the Charger police recovered: firearm holsters, two armor plate carriers, including one that had a DEA POLICE patch in yellow, a tactical vest with a white DEA patch, handcuffs, badges, credentials and what looked like an AR-15 style rifle that turned out to be a BB gun.

DEA agent Morgan T. Barr wrote in the complaint that he believed Golden had tricked his companion into actually believing that Golden was a federal agent and that she was being trained to be one as well.

Golden appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jolie M. Russo Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Portland. His attorney Michael Charles Benson entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Golden was held Thursday night in the downtown jail and returned to court again Friday afternoon.

This time, the judge released Golden from custody on a number of conditions. Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Nyhus didn’t object to Golden’s pre-trial release.

Golden must find and keep a full-time job or attend school or both, limit travel to Oregon unless he gains permission to leave the state, submit to drug testing, participate in a mental health evaluation and take care of a pending warrant out of Texas within 30 days of his release. It’s unclear what the Texas warrant stems from.

If convicted, the impersonation offense is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, Nyhus said.

-- Maxine Bernstein

 

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