A 45-year-old Stone Mountain man was charged with extortion and impersonating a law enforcement officer for allegedly posing as a Homeland Security official and trying to bully a man into paying him cash, Channel 2 Action News reports.
The would-be victim reported the threat to the Gwinnett County police, who set up a sting and arrested the alleged extortionist when he arrived to pick up the money.
James Willie Thomas was being held without bond in Gwinnett County Detention Center on Tuesday night, according to the Gwinnett Sheriff’s Office.
The incident began Thursday, when the victim, Jorge Guzman of Norcross, stopped at a QuickTrip station on Jimmy Carter Boulevard near Norcross to put fuel in his truck. The name and phone number of his carpet-installation business was on the side of his vehicle.
Shortly afterward, Guzman told Channel 2 in Spanish, “I got a call and thought it was someone who wanted carpeting.”
But the caller, who also spoke Spanish, told him he was from the “Office of Homeland Security.” The caller accused Guzman of employing illegal immigrants, and that he and his fellow officers would pull him over if he didn’t return to the gas station.
The caller demanded to know, “How much cash (do) you carry?” He also threatened Guzman’s family.
After the call ended, Guzman called police.
"In cases like this, I'm going to call the police and trust them," he told Channel 2.
Working with investigators, Guzman called the so-called Homeland Security officer back and agreed to leave $200 in a folded-up piece of paper behind the AutoZone auto parts store next to the QuickTrip.
When Thomas showed up, officers moved in and arrested him. Police said Thomas has nothing to do with Homeland Security.
Besides the extortion and impersonation charges, Thomas also was charged with marijuana possession, authorities said.
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