San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

San Diego resident of posing as a policeman pleads not guilty to 11 counts of impersonating an officer.

41 year-old Kevin Kenniston plead guilty to the multiple charges of 11 felony counts of posing as a police officer, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and three counts of domestic violence. The Chula Vista police were confronted by nearly a dozen victims that say they were detained by a police imposter. Kenniston allegedly pulled over 11 people within a 10-month period pretending to be a police officer. Victims reported that the defendant carried a 0.9 mm gun in a police-issue holster.

Deputy District Attorney William La Fond told the court that “the defendant is a threat to the community” and asked Judge Stephanie Sontag to raise the bail from $300,000 to $1 million. La Fond told the court that in 2006 Kenniston was under surveillance, where he tried to arrest the undercover officer when he got into a fender bender. The officer arrested Kenniston for violating his parole.

Kenniston’ San Diego criminal attorney, Marc Carlos, told the judge that a $1 million dollar bail is extreme due to the fact that the defendant is the owner of a licensed business and the vehicle he drives has his funeral escort business logo clearly advertised on it. Carlos added that Kenniston no longer possesses any police cars or motorcycles and made it a point to say “He’s trying to make something of his life”. La fond said that “it’s unacceptable behavior” in regard to Kenniston impersonating a police officer. Judge Sontag set Kenniston’s bail at $500,000 where he was then handcuffed and taken to jail.

Man Accused Of Posing As Officer Pleads Not Guilty, 10news.com, April 12, 2011

Arrest made in fake cop case, fox5sandiego.com, April 5, 2011