A 19-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday after reports surfaced last week in The Villages of a woman impersonating a sheriff’s deputy.
Ka’mesha Nicole Byrd of Eustis was arrested on a Sumter County arrest warrant charging her with impersonating a law enforcement officer. Byrd has been identified as the suspect in the impersonation of a law enforcement officer on Jan. 16 in The Villages. You can read more about the original report HERE
Surveillance videos from The Villages ultimately led detectives to a grey Nissan Maxima which had been borrowed by Byrd.
A family member told detectives that Byrd has in the past identified herself as a police explorer and also an employee of an unknown police department. Detectives interviewed Byrd and she admitted to them that she was the person who had impersonated a deputy on multiple occasions in both Sumter and Marion counties. Byrd expressed to detectives that she desired to attend a law enforcement academy and become an officer.
At the time of her arrest at her home in Eustis, Byrd surrendered a BB gun pistol which is believed to have been worn during the offenses. Sumter County detectives worked closely with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Community Watch to solve this case. The Villages Community Watch was instrumental in the ultimate resolution of the case. Byrd did not have a criminal history. She was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail on $2,000 bond.