Security guard impersonates DEA agent to charge drivers for downtown Cleveland parking
CLEVELAND, Ohio Sept 19 2017— A 21-year-old man working security for a downtown Cleveland nightclub is accused of wearing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration badge and charging people $20 to watch their cars.
Malik Ross of Youngstown is charged with robbery and impersonating a police officer, both third-degree felonies. He is in the Cleveland City Jail awaiting a court date.
Police are still investigating where Ross got the badge and if it’s real. A message left with a DEA spokesman was not returned.
Ross was set to begin the Cuyahoga County Community College Police Academy on Monday, according to school spokesman John Horton. Horton said Ross is no longer in the program.
Three people reported to police that they were trying to find a parking spot in the Cuyahoga County-owned lot at 301 Lakeside Avenue. Ross approached all three of them and told them he was charging $20 to park.
He told one motorist that he was DEA agent that was providing security for the lot and was charging $20 to park. He told another man that he was providing security because there had been a lot of break-ins at the lot.
All three left without paying, according to police reports.
Each person said they saw Ross with a gold DEA badge around his neck and saw he was carrying a gun. One of the witnesses told an investigator that Ross said he was leaving the lot soon to work security at one of the Warehouse District bars.
he officers tracked him down at Rumors nightclub on West 6th Street where he was working as a security guard, according to police reports. Attempts to reach Rumors officials Monday were unsuccessful.
Ross told the officers that “he felt he should be paid for his time” guarding the parking lot, according to police reports.
He also noted that he has a valid concealed carry permit, which the officers verified. He also said he had his handcuffs, gun and badge with him, according to police reports.
Officers found all three items and collected them for evidence. Ross later told police that his father sent him the badge, police reports say.
He told the officers that he was going through the police academy, police reports say.
Cleveland.com
