Georgia man with dreams of military career lied about service record, stole badge, police say

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County police say a man who has aspirations to become a military police officer, lied to officers about actually being one.

Lucas Jakstadt was charged with one felony count of impersonating a military officer.

Officers said Jakstadt had a stolen badge indicating he was a Marine Corps Military Police Corrections Officer.

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According to court documents, Jakstadt called 911 after he said he received online threats. Police believe the call was likely just a money scam.

Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell spoke to neighbors who were around when police questioned Jakstadt.

When officers arrived at his neighborhood, police said Jakstadt identified himself as an officer and had handcuffs and a real military police badge.

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“The officer said if this is stolen we can take you to jail and he said it wasn’t stolen,” Cynthia Pell said.

According to Delk, the officers who responded to Jakstadt’s call were former military.

“The two officers who responded to his call are actually military veterans so they knew what types of questions to look for when he was speaking about being in the military and what he said just didn’t make sense,” Delk said.

Eventually, Jakstadt confessed that he wasn’t in the military, but was trying to get into the Marine Corps, Delk continued, telling him that he’d actually “stolen that badge from a military police officer who worked in the recruiting station,” Sgt. Wayne Delk, Public Information Officer for the Cobb County Police Department.”

Colene Sullivan, a neighbor, told Channel 2 Action News that Jakstadt is friends with her grandson and had told her his aspirations of becoming a military police officer.

“He showed me the badge and he said it was his grandfathers and I said okay because I didn’t think they gave you a badge before you even start the basics.  I think he wanted to be important but didn’t realize that this was not the way to do it,” Sullivan said.

Jakstadt is now in jail in Cobb County, charged with impersonating a police officer, which is a felony.

“We take this so seriously because it does undermine our own authority to go out and do our job well,” Delk told Channel 2 Action News.

After Jakstadt’s arrest, officers returned the stolen military police badge and handcuffs to the recruiting station they were stolen from.

It’s unclear how Jakstadt gained access to the items.

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