|
QUEENS---A 21-year-old Astoria man has been charged with criminal impersonation, among other charges, for posing as a plainclothes New York City police officer and unlawfully stopping and questioning an innocent pedestrian about a purported robbery.
Unknown to the pedestrian - a 15-year-old high school student - the incident was being recorded and later appeared on a website entitled "YouTube."
Gazi Abura, 21, of 23-55 White Oak Court in Astoria is being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on charges of second degree criminal impersonation, second-degree coercion and second-degree unlawful imprisonment. If convicted, the defendant faces up to a year in jail.
District Attorney Richard Brown said that, according to the criminal charges, the 15-year-old male victim was walking home one night last July when a burgundy car pulled alongside him at the intersection of 85th Street and 25th Avenue and three men, including the defendant, exited the vehicle.
The men allegedly identified themselves as police officers and directed the victim to stop, raise his hands over his head and provide identification. Believing that the three men were police officers in plain clothes, he complied with all their instructions. The men then informed the victim that there had been a robbery in the area and that he matched the description of the suspect. The men then allegedly demanded to see identification and to know where the victim was going when they stopped him. The victim explained that he was going home and produced his high school identification card.
The district attorney said that the criminal charges further allege that several weeks later the victim heard that the incident was appearing on a website entitled "YouTube." The victim was unaware that the incident had been recorded or that his photo identification card had been recorded for the benefit of the website's viewers.
Brown noted that the investigation was continuing. 9-27-06
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed by anyone without the express written permission of the publisher. This article is copyright protected and Fair Use is not applicable.
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
|
