A Texas church employee has been arrested for trying to extort money from a woman by pretending to be an agent with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Donald Doolittle, a 58-year-old staff member at Gateway Community Church of Webster, was recently charged with impersonating a public servant, a magistrate said during a probable cause hearing on Saturday.
According to authorities, on Thursday, Doolittle received a professional massage at a facility in Houston, but when he tried to pay, the massage therapist declined his credit card.
In response, Doolittle pulled out an identification card labeled “ICE” and demanded to see the therapist’s ID. When she showed him a temporary visa, he demanded money from her.
"He demanded she Zelle him $500 or he would take her away and she would never see her family or children again," a magistrate said during the Saturday hearing, according to ABC News' Houston affiliate KTRK.
She agreed to send him the money, after which Doolittle allegedly texted her saying that he had marked her case for non-prosecution, then allegedly asked her to delete the text messages.
The following day, the massage therapist ran into police officers at a luncheon event, in which she told them what happened. From there, authorities investigated Doolittle.
Doolittle has denied getting a massage from the woman or even going to her establishment, but police claim they have surveillance footage showing he was at the massage parlor, according to KTRK.
Since the Trump administration began overseeing an increase in immigration enforcement raids earlier this year, many reports have surfaced of people impersonating ICE agents.
In February, for example, CNN reported that authorities in three states had arrested ICE impersonators, with one South Carolina man being charged with three counts of kidnapping.
Last month, the FBI issued a bulletin urging law enforcers to properly identify themselves due to multiple instances of criminals impersonating ICE agents.
“Due to the recent increase in ICE enforcement actions across the country, criminal actors are using ICE’s enhanced public profile and media coverage to their advantage to target vulnerable communities and commit criminal activity,” stated the FBI, according to The Hill.
“[Authorities must] adequality identify themselves during operations and cooperate with individuals who request further verification, such as calling their local precinct to verify the officer’s identity.”
