By Joelyn Hansen
Idaho Falls Post Register
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — A 16-year-old was arrested in a scheme in which police say he allegedly held an illegal immigrant captive for days.
An Idaho Falls teen is facing a slew of criminal charges for allegedly impersonating a police officer.
The 16-year-old boy has been charged with three counts of impersonating a peace officer, and Bonneville County Prosecutor Dane Watkins is weighing whether to file charges for kidnapping and grand theft by extortion.
His name has not been released.
Here’s what he did, according to the Idaho Falls Police Department:
On Aug. 17, he contacted the 19-year-old victim at his apartment on the 700 block of Tiger Avenue claiming to be an undercover police officer investigating the apartment complex for the presence of illegal immigrants.
The boy told the victim, who is an illegal immigrant, to cooperate or face deportation, and he promised to assist the victim in filing immigration registration paperwork.
The teen held the victim captive for four days while claiming to be working on his immigration paperwork, though he allowed the victim to stay at a friend’s house each night.
The victim gave the teen about $200 and the use of his vehicle.
The victim said he grew skeptical of the teen’s claim to be a police officer, questioned him and contemplated running away, but was threatened with restraints that looked like a bicycle chain. He was also threatened with jail and deportation of himself and his family.
The scheme unraveled Aug. 20 when the victim’s family reported him missing and officers pulled over the teen while he was driving the victim’s car.
Police are unsure what will happen to the victim.
Copyright 2009 The Post Register