Fake cop held at police station

Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell condemned the actions of a 30-year-old security guard who pretended to be a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force when he tried to purchase an iPhone 14 valued at $145,000.

It was shared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court that the complainant posted on the Facebook Ad Market that he was seeking interested buyers for an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The accused, Racque May, expressed his intentions to purchase the phone and indicated to the complainant that he was a police officer.

May brought the complainant to the Denham Town Police Station, claiming that he was posted at that location, and told the complainant to wait until he returned with the receipt.

"That is egregious! This is contributing to the [demoralising] of the police officers in the constabulary. This is serious," the senior jurist noted on Tuesday. May, who was subsequently charged with larceny by trick and impersonating a police, is represented by attorney-at-law Sean Kinghorn and has been in custody for the past four weeks.

Kinghorn attempted to have his client admitted to bail, noting that May has a kidney issue. But as the judge started making notes in her court sheet for a bail offer, new details emerged from a police officer, who shared that May was charged by other detectives in another police division with larceny by trick. Prosecutors added that May could be charged with other offences, as his occupation on his passport states that he is a police officer.

"No, this is just too much," judge Burrell expressed.

May was then remanded in custody until April 18, when the matter is set for mention and he was made the subject of a fingerprint order.