Florida man accused of impersonating retired out-of-state deputy

NAPLES, Fla. — A Florida man is accused of using fake identification and phony car equipment to impersonate a retired deputy from Mississippi, authorities said.

>> Read more trending news

Jack Mitchell Bowles, 51, of Naples, was arrested on Thursday and charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer and a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer without violence, according to Collier County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.

According to the sheriff’s office, a deputy saw Bowles aggressively tailgating vehicles on March 9 while driving a black 2019 Dodge Challenger on Interstate 75, WINK-TV reported.

The sheriff’s office said that Bowles tailgated a deputy’s unmarked vehicle, pulling next to the car and shouting that he was a retired police officer, WBBH-TV reported. When Bowles was pulled over, he allegedly showed deputies an identification card that stated he was a retired deputy with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi. He also allegedly showed the deputy a badge from the same agency, according to the television station.

Deputies searching Bowles’ vehicle said they found a pistol with a bullet in the chamber and a fully loaded magazine with 15 bullets, the Naples Daily News reported. They also stated that Bowles’ vehicle had antennas and radar devices mounted to its trunk. The vehicle also was equipped with a handheld radio and open laptop on the inside, the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.

Bowles was handcuffed and arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer without violence, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.

In a follow-up investigation, deputies learned from Donna Rogers, a law enforcement certification officer with Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety, that there were no records tying Bowles to the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, the Daily News reported.

Hinds County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Velisa Walker confirmed to the newspaper that Bowles was never employed at the sheriff’s department in Mississippi.

Bowles was arrested on Thursday and charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, a felony, WFTX-TV reported.

“Anyone posing as an officer causes a threat to public safety, and I won’t allow these imposters to harass our citizens,” Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in a statement.