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There's A Police Impersonator With A Gun Fondling Women In Hollywood [Updated]
Police are searching for an armed man posing as a cop and has fondled at least two women in separate incidents in Hollywood.
The first assault took place last Tuesday in the 6100 block of De Longpre Avenue when the man approached a 25-year-old UCLA exchange student from Russia who was searching for her keys, according to NBC Los Angeles. He flashed her a fake badge and ID and told her he was a police officer.
Earlier, she had given a homeless man a bag of chips, a friend of the victim who asked not to be identified, told NBC Los Angeles. "When she was walking through the driveway, he told her he was a police officer and he thought she gave the homeless man drugs," the friend said. "And that’s when he needed to search her."
During the search, he fondled her breasts and butt. Then he pulled out a gun from his waistband and told the victim, "If you scream or knock on the door, I'm going to shoot you," according to an LAPD alert. The victim then fled.
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The victim's friend, who is only identified as Julie, told CBS Los Angeles, "She was crying and was very scared."
The victim sensed that there was something wrong before the incident and walked over to an area she knew that had a surveillance camera, the friend said. That camera caught the incident on video. You can see the man pull out a gun and point it toward the victim around the 0:29-minute mark in this video below:
The most recent incident took place around 1 a.m. on Monday in the 500 block of North Kingsley Drive in East Hollywood. The man followed the victim to her parking area and walked up to her car. He put his fake badge against the car window and told the woman that her registration was expired. The man told the woman to get out of her car and to open her truck so he could search for weapons. Then he got her to stand against a wall while he did a pat-down search, fondling the victim's inner thighs and butt.
The victim, who did not want to be identified, spoke to ABC 7 about the incident. "When he asked to pat me down for weapons, I was wearing skinny jeans, I can't hide anything in that. And so that was definitely the most terrifying part, and like I said, I was alone in a dark parking lot, so what was I supposed to do?" she said.
The suspect is described as a black man, standing between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet 3 inches tall, and weighing between 230 and 280 pounds. He has a tattoo or birthmark on his left temple. The man possibly drives a black Ford Mustang or purple Cadillac.
Anyone with information about the suspect was urged to call LAPD Detective DeAnn Maltos at (213) 473-0447. Anonymous tips can be provided by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
UPDATE 11:45 a.m.: Police have arrested 39-year-old Joseph Christopher Moore for allegedly impersonating an officer and fondling women, according to ABC 7. They arrested him at his home in the 2900 block of Jackson Avenue in Anaheim.
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