Florida Man Arrested at Best Buy for Impersonating a Federal Marshal

On March 21, 2018, officers of the Boynton Beach Police Department ("BBPD") responded to a call from a manager of the Best Buy store located at 550 North Congress Avenue in Boynton Beach, Florida.

The Manager advised the officers that he wanted a man in a business suit, later identified as John Joseph O'Grady, to be issued a trespass warning because he had been previously observed and video recorded shoplifting an iPhone X from the store.

When BBPD officers made contact with Mr. O'Grady they noticed that his suit and jacket were appointed with a US Marshals Service lapel pin. Seeing a possible bulge from a weapon, another BBPD officer asked O'Grady if he had any weapons on his person, to which O'Grady replied "Yes." An officer then asked where the weapon was located, to which O'Grady replied "on my hip." O'Grady then denied being a "police officer," but upon being asked "What are you?" he answered "a Federal Marshal." He then claimed to not have his "federal marshal ID" with him because he had "just stepped out of [his] house." Of course, he also didn't have a supervisor's phone number the officers could call to verify his literally unbelievable story.

The officers then expressed their concern that O'Grady was carrying a weapon without any law enforcement identification while claiming to be a "Federal Marshal," and O'Grady responded with the not-very-reassuring "It's not a real weapon."

And thusly it emerged that they were dealing with a limo driver. Who was under arrest.

A later search of O'Grady's car turned up the stolen iPhone as well as another authentic-seeming US Marshals Service badge along with another holster. After obtaining a warrant, officers searched O'Grady's residence, turning up additional US Marshals paraphernalia.

On May 10, 2018 John Joseph O'Grady was arrested and brought before Magistrate Judge William Matthewman of the West Palm Beach Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. On May 11, 2018 O'Grady was released under strict conditions - see end of video - having put up his house as collateral against a $150,000 bond.

Charges were formally filed against O'Grady on May 28, 2018, alleging one count of Impersonation of an Officer or Employee of the United States, a "wobbler crime" pursuant to Title 18, USC, § 912 of the United States Code. (Wobbler crimes may be prosecuted as either felonies or misdemeanors. In this case, statute sets the maximum penalty at zero to three years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, a zero to one year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.)

On August 16, 2018 O'Grady pleaded guilty to the sole charge, also submitting to the court a letter from his wife requesting leniency. O'Grady was sentenced to four months incarceration followed by one year of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. John Joseph O'Grady was released from prison on December 4, 2018 and is currently on probation.

He paid the $100 fine.

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