Scam of the Week
By Tod Hunter
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
An enterprising man in Longmont. Colo., presented himself as a member of the "age verification unit" of the local police at an adult video store and demanded the store turn over videos to him so he could verify the ages of the participants.
Full points for ingenuity, but the execution ... not so much. The clerks at the store turned him away empty-handed three times on three different days and he was arrested yesterday on a number of charges including impersonating a police officer.
Andrew Libby, 33, was arrested without incident outside of his home on suspicion of two counts of impersonating a police officer, child neglect, possession of a weapon by a previous offender, possession of an illegal weapon, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Detectives believe Libby is the man in surveillance videos taken from Mile High Emporium. Store clerks told police the man in the video flashed a badge and told them he was a detective with the Longmont Police Department’s age verification unit, which does not exist, and told the clerks to provide him with X-rated videos so he could confirm the age of the performers.
The clerks turned him away.
According to police reports, the man came to the store on July 18, July 19 and July 26. The store’s manager reported the incidents to police on July 28, saying the man provided a badge and a police business card without a name.
A police commander told reporters that officers searching Libby's home found a metal badge with the words “private security” on it, an illegal butterfly knife and a semi-automatic handgun. Officers also found a gun safe, the commander said, which could lead to additional arrest charges if there are guns inside because Libby is a convicted felon.
But clever, you have to give him that. "Age verification unit" is a good one.
