Man arrested for impersonating Diplomatic Security Service agent, police say
CYPRESS, Texas (KTRK) -- A Cypress man has been arrested for impersonating a federal agent in order to train real police officers.
Mitchell Gregory Shoemaker, 31, has been charged in federal court. He is accused of impersonating a Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) special agent.
According to the criminal complaint, Shoemaker solicited police officers at a private, law enforcement-only gun range in Magnolia, telling them he could train them.
In a sting on Tuesday, undercover DSS special agents took him up on it. Court records say he wore a badge and a tactical vest with "POLICE" on it and told them DSS recruited him based on his experience as a U.S. Navy SEAL.
However, during his arrest, he said he was really a CIA agent "on covert assignment to DSS."
His girlfriend told officers Shoemaker had numerous guns and badges. Neighbors say authorities raided his townhome on Mill Ridge in Cypress Wednesday night.
Shoemaker remains in custody. He was already on deferred adjudication in Harris County on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which prohibits him from possessing a firearm.
