The man wearing a badge and carrying a gun motioned for the driver to pull over. Then, Donald Sebastian did what every good cop does: He called for backup.
Like his badge, Sebastian is a phony, authorities say. His desire to become a U.S. marshal was stopped by one thing - a criminal record with 29 arrests since 1975, including state and federal gun convictions.
"Who would call for backup?" said U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott. "That's what is so strange."
Sebastian, 54, of Middleburg Heights, was arrested yesterday on charges of impersonating a federal agent. He was released on a personal bond. Defense attorney Debra Migdal declined comment.
Sebastian told investigators, "It made me feel special to put on the marshal's uniform, even though I couldn't function as one." His home was littered with marshal service business cards, shirts, jackets, leather gloves and other gear that said he was a fed. He told authorities his ruse was his "way of giving back to the community."
"I would suggest a different type of volunteerism," said Strongsville Police Chief Charles Goss. "Most people impersonate an officer to carry out some other crime. But in this case, he called us."
Documents show that Sebastian, a dog trainer, was driving west on Ohio 82 at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a white Chevy Lumina with several antennas on it and a marshal's baseball cap in the rear dash. That's when he saw a car driven by Douglas Richards, 22, of North Olmsted appear to cut him off, authorities said.
Sebastian waved his finger at Richards, who returned the motion with an obscene gesture, documents show. Sebastian then showed his badge and ordered Richards to pull over at Whitney Road and Brushwood Lane in Strongsville.
Sebastian called the Police Department and requested backup. In the meantime, Sebastian refused to let Richards leave.
When an officer pulled up, Sebastian identified himself as the marshal's service canine officer, provided details of the stop and then drove away. Later, Strongsville officers called the marshal's service about the stop by the agency's dog handler, but the marshal's service doesn't have a canine officer.
"You're lucky you didn't mess with the wrong person and get your damn fool head blown off," U.S. Magistrate David Perelman told Sebastian during a hearing. "Did the thought ever occur to you that [you] could end up dead from nonsense like this?"
Idiot
Like his badge, Sebastian is a phony, authorities say. His desire to become a U.S. marshal was stopped by one thing - a criminal record with 29 arrests since 1975, including state and federal gun convictions.
"Who would call for backup?" said U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott. "That's what is so strange."
Sebastian, 54, of Middleburg Heights, was arrested yesterday on charges of impersonating a federal agent. He was released on a personal bond. Defense attorney Debra Migdal declined comment.
Sebastian told investigators, "It made me feel special to put on the marshal's uniform, even though I couldn't function as one." His home was littered with marshal service business cards, shirts, jackets, leather gloves and other gear that said he was a fed. He told authorities his ruse was his "way of giving back to the community."
"I would suggest a different type of volunteerism," said Strongsville Police Chief Charles Goss. "Most people impersonate an officer to carry out some other crime. But in this case, he called us."
Documents show that Sebastian, a dog trainer, was driving west on Ohio 82 at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a white Chevy Lumina with several antennas on it and a marshal's baseball cap in the rear dash. That's when he saw a car driven by Douglas Richards, 22, of North Olmsted appear to cut him off, authorities said.
Sebastian waved his finger at Richards, who returned the motion with an obscene gesture, documents show. Sebastian then showed his badge and ordered Richards to pull over at Whitney Road and Brushwood Lane in Strongsville.
Sebastian called the Police Department and requested backup. In the meantime, Sebastian refused to let Richards leave.
When an officer pulled up, Sebastian identified himself as the marshal's service canine officer, provided details of the stop and then drove away. Later, Strongsville officers called the marshal's service about the stop by the agency's dog handler, but the marshal's service doesn't have a canine officer.
"You're lucky you didn't mess with the wrong person and get your damn fool head blown off," U.S. Magistrate David Perelman told Sebastian during a hearing. "Did the thought ever occur to you that [you] could end up dead from nonsense like this?"
Idiot
