SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. – A woman who deputies said was impersonating a law enforcement officer to gain access into people’s homes was arrested Wednesday.
Sumter County deputies said Ka’mesha Nicole Byrd, 19, identified herself as deputy around Jan. 16 in the Villages.
Recommended Videos
Joe Singleton said his wife opened the front door of their Villages of Largo home on Jan. 17 to a woman who said she was a sheriff’s deputy.
"She fooled us," Singleton said. "She was wearing the normal green shirt like detectives wear, with Sumter County on it. It said 'deputy sheriff' on the back -- black pants, with a holster and a gun belt."
Singleton said the woman told them she was warning people about Markeith Loyd, wanted for allegedly shooting and killing an Orlando police officer.
Singleton told News 6 the woman asked if she could come inside.
Singleton said she looked around inside the house for a couple minutes then told them she was onto the next house.
"As far as I know, she didn't take anything," he said. "We went through the whole house and everything was locked up that night."
Surveillance video from the area helped detectives track down and arrest Byrd, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
A relative told deputies that Byrd has previously identified herself to people as a “police explorer” and an employee of a police department.
Byrd admitted to deputies that she was the person who impersonated a deputy on multiples occasions in Sumter and Marion counties.
She told detectives that she wanted to become an officer of the law, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Sumter deputies seized a BB gun and a T-shirt with “Deputy Sheriff” written on it when Byrd was arrested. Deputies said the items were what Byrd wore while impersonating a deputy.
Byrd was charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer and booked into the Lake County Jail on a $2,000 bond.