An American couple from Oregon were reportedly arrested on Saturday for illegally posing as firefighters, aboard a fake emergency truck purchased at an auction, while trying to enter a one of the evacuated areas of Los Angeles.
“The occupants claimed to be from the Roaring River Fire Department in Oregon. Upon further investigation, officers learned that the department’s name was not that of a legitimate agency,” the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said in a Facebook post reported by ABC News on Monday.
On Saturday, Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44, were allegedly caught while trying to enter the Palisades Fire Zone in Los Angeles, aboard a fake fire truck previously purchased in an auction, according to the LASD.
The two individuals were wearing “response gear,” including California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection “CAL-Fire” shirts, helmets and radios, the publication said. .
It was a patrol unit from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) traveling with fire emergency personnel on board their vehicle who was reportedly alarmed when they saw the “illegitimate-looking” truck. .
Except that after being stuck, the couple admitted to having managed to get to the evacuated area the day before, in the same way.
-The 30-year-old and the 40-year-old were reportedly arrested for identity theft by pretending to be firefighters and for entering an evacuation zone.
“The truck was impounded,” the police force said in writing. Suspect Dustin Nehl has a criminal history in Oregon for criminal mischief and arson. Neither has any criminal history in California.”
Getty Images via AFP
Since the start of the fires in Los Angeles, the local police have been on the lookout while at least ten individuals have been arrested in particular for looting and arson, taking advantage of the forced evacuation of various sectors to burglarize homes, according to ABC News.
One of them, Ivan Reed, 34, was also accused of posing as a firefighter in order to gain access to an empty Malibu home to steal items, the American media reported. Another would have been surprised with an Emmy Award in his hands.
