The
recent arrest of a man suspected of impersonating a federal law enforcement
officer has prompted Las Cruces police to ask residents for information on
similar incidents involving the same individual.
Aaron
Tyler Stroud, 38, of the 2100 block of Mars Avenue in the Four Hills
Neighborhood, is charged with one federal count of impersonating a public
official. He was arrested Monday and is currently being held without bond at
the Dona Ana County Detention Center.
Stroud
was also arrested in 2003 on charges of impersonating a peace officer and
carrying a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment.
In
the most recent known incident, about midnight on Sunday, Sept. 29, Stroud allegedly
confronted a couple who were having an argument inside a car on Mars Avenue.
Stroud was armed with a gun, carrying a badge and wearing a T-shirt marked
“U.S. Marshal.” Stroud allegedly ordered the couple, at gunpoint, to step away
from their vehicle. He’s also accused of firing one round into the air shortly
before a Las Cruces police officer came upon the scene.
The
LCPD officer questioned Stroud who identified himself as a U.S. Marshal who
recently moved to Las Cruces. He also identified himself using the name of an
actual deputy marshal who works out of El Paso. Stroud walked away from the
scene as LCPD officers searched for a shell casing from a round Stroud
allegedly fired into the air during his encounter with the couple.
Upon
further investigation, and after consulting with the U.S. Marshals Office,
police determined Stroud was impersonating a federal law enforcement officer.
Police
believe Stroud was possibly impersonating a peace officer on numerous other
occasions and likely in his own neighborhood of Mars Avenue, Venus Street and
near the Willow Brook Apartments. A resident of the neighborhood contacted police
in early August and indicated he saw a suspicious man – who was dressed as and
acting like a police officer – walking the neighborhood during the evening
hours. Police now believe that suspicious man was Stroud.
Anyone
with information on Stroud’s activities, or anyone who may have been confronted
by Stroud or someone portraying themself to be a law enforcement officer, is
asked to call Las Cruces police at (575) 526-0795.