A North Carolina man accused of dressing as a police officer to rob a home apparently went considerably further than finding a convincing costume. Fayetteville Police say the equipment 27-year-old Jayden Domontez Boone was wearing actually belonged to the department and had been stolen from an officer’s home.
Officers were dispatched to a residence in the 2000 block of Osceola Drive at around 3:33 a.m. on September 27 following a report of a robbery involving someone impersonating a Fayetteville Police officer. Police say a man dressed as an officer knocked on the door before entering the residence and taking money.
No injuries were reported during the robbery, and responding officers located a suspect nearby. Police identified him as Boone and took him into custody.
The uniform wasn’t simply convincing from a distance, either, as detectives determined Boone was wearing equipment issued by the Fayetteville Police Department. Investigators say that equipment had been stolen from the residence of a Fayetteville officer who was away on vacation and had not yet returned home when the robbery occurred.
Police Say the Equipment Belonged to an Actual Officer
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Fayetteville Police said the stolen police equipment has since been recovered, although the department did not provide a complete inventory of the items Boone is accused of wearing. The department also did not specify when the equipment was taken from the officer’s residence or how investigators believe Boone came into possession of it.
Police initially announced charges of robbery with a deadly weapon, possession of stolen goods, and impersonating a law enforcement officer, along with unrelated warrants. The department said additional charges were pending as detectives continued investigating the case.
That leaves investigators with more than the robbery itself to unravel, considering the equipment police say was used during it came from one of their own officers. Fayetteville Police did not indicate in its announcement whether Boone is suspected of personally stealing the equipment from the officer’s residence.
Jail Records List Additional Charges
Cumberland County detention records reviewed by Guessing Headlights show Boone was booked on September 27 and list a felony charge of robbery with a firearm or other weapon. The records also contain felony and misdemeanor possession of stolen goods or property entries, two misdemeanor larceny entries, impersonating law enforcement, and misdemeanor conspiracy.
The robbery entry, possession of stolen property entries, impersonation charge, and conspiracy entry each display a $0 bond amount in the records provided, while each of the two larceny entries carries a $5,000 bond. The available records therefore show $10,000 attached to the two larceny entries, but they do not provide enough information to characterize $10,000 as Boone’s overall bond or determine the custody conditions represented by each $0 entry.
Boone remained identified by Fayetteville Police as being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center when the department announced the arrest. What began as a report of someone pretending to be an officer ultimately became considerably less pretend when detectives took a closer look at the equipment he was wearing.