Last week, it was reported that a gun which had been stolen from the 105th precinct in Jamaica, Queens had been sold back to the NYPD by a man who then willingly and nonchalantly turned himself into police. It seems that the rabbit hole runs especially deep for the man who returned the gun—police believe he is a career criminal who has made a living out impersonating law enforcement. "He's like the guy from the movie 'Catch Me If You Can,.' This guy has been caught on several occasions, but he keeps being able to dupe people. For one reason or another, they seem to fall for it," said an "exasperated" FDNY official.
According to police, Ronald DeShields, 36, has a long history of impersonating FDNY officials; he passed himself off as a retired FDNY fire marshal who needed to speak with detectives on at least two occasions recently, enabling him to get access to NYPD stations, where police believe he may have stolen other guns. He was arrested in 2007 for faking his way onto a ride-along with Engine 222 in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He even has a profile on Firefighter Nation.com. He admitted to his ruse to investigators after he was caught last week: he allegedly told cops, "I've been in several precincts. Usually, I would just walk in like I knew where I was going, and if I was ever stopped, I would say I was a retired fire marshal and I had to talk to the squad."
Even more bizarre: about four years ago, Brooklyn beep Marty Markowitz appointed DeShields to Brooklyn Community Board 4, right after he had been freed from prison after serving four years on charges of forgery, impersonating an officer and weapons possession. According to Community Board 4 manager Nadine Whitted, DeShields regularly participated in board meetings: "He said he was interested in this job . . . He seems to be interested in public safety," Whitted said. DeShields is currently being held at Rikers Island, in lieu of $49,999 bond, charged with felony burglary.
