Steve in PA
Member
Fake cop arrested at school, police say
Rashad A. Moore of Edwardsville is charged after he is found on the grounds of Kingston's Pringle Elementary.
By KRIS WERNOWSKY
[email protected]
KINGSTON - A man police say posed as a law enforcement official was arrested Thursday after being caught on Pringle Street Elementary School grounds with a gun.
This was the second time he was there in the last three weeks, police say.
According to Kingston police:
Rashad A. Moore of Beverly Drive in Edwardsville entered the school on Jan 11. A witness said they held the door open for Moore, who pulled back his jacket and exposed his gun. The witness said they were afraid to say anything to Moore about the weapon.
Another witness told police that at about 9:20 a.m. Moore entered the kindergarten room and they spoke about school being dismissed early because of the weather. Moore opened his jacket and showed the witness a police-style belt and claimed he was a police officer in Newark, N.J.
He told school officials he was there for his stepson.
Superintendent Augie Piazza contacted police to file a complaint.
Officer Daniel Hunsinger began to run a background check and called the Newark police, who said they did not have an officer named "Rashad Moore." A criminal history check revealed police in Newark arrested Moore on charges of impersonating a public officer in October 2001, but the charges were dismissed for an unknown reason.
Moore wasn't arrested after being at the school with a gun, but at 11:30 p.m. the same day, officer Richard Kotchik of the Kingston police stopped Moore, who was driving a Ford Ranger on Main Street in Kingston. Moore told Kotchik he was a corrections officer at East Jersey State Prison and that he was "on the job" and was "one of us."
However, another record check by Jeffrey Poling of the East Jersey State Prison's Special Investigations Division showed Moore was never employed by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
Police arrested Moore on a charge of impersonating a public servant and several traffic violations.
On Thursday, a witness contacted police and said Moore was hanging around in the parking lot area of the school near the playground. Hunsinger arrived at the school moments later and began to question Moore.
He gave Hunsinger a business card for Sgt. Sayfullah Bashir of the New Jersey Shields Fugitive Task Force and claimed he worked for the agency.
Hunsinger found a .40 caliber handgun on Moore, who said he had it because he was a member of the New Jersey Shields Fugitive Task Force. He also told Hunsinger he had just left the shooting range.
The officer called Bashir, who said Moore had done some work as a private contractor, but when asked if Moore would carry a gun for the type of work he did Bashir said, "Absolutely not."
Moore took Hunsinger to his apartment. He said he had a permit to carry the gun but he failed to produce the proper paperwork.
Charges of possession of a weapon on school property, impersonating a public servant, firearms not to be carried without a license and disorderly conduct are being filed in the Jan. 11 incident.
It's unclear why charges were not filed when Moore first entered the school, and Kingston police did not return phone calls Friday.
In Thursday's incident, Moore was charged with possession of a weapon on school property, firearms not to be carried without a license and disorderly conduct. He appeared before District Justice Gerald Feissner and was taken to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on $7,500 bail.
Phone calls to the school were forwarded to Wyoming Valley West School District Superintendent Augie Piazza, who could not be reached for comment Friday.
One school board member said he was pleased with the faculty's response to Moore lingering in the parking lot Thursday.
"It's disturbing that somebody like that will come to a school," said Barry Williams. "These are the kinds of incidents when not handled incorrectly can lead to tragic results."
Another school board member disputed the Kingston police's claim that Moore gained entry into the school office on Jan. 11. Michael Barna said the information he received via e-mail from the district was that Moore did not enter the school during the first incident.
As for anything else, including whether Moore has a stepson in the school, he said he doesn't know. He also didn't know if parents were contacted about the report of Moore being on school property with a gun.
Staff reporter Ron Lieback contributed to this story.
Rashad A. Moore of Edwardsville is charged after he is found on the grounds of Kingston's Pringle Elementary.
By KRIS WERNOWSKY
[email protected]
KINGSTON - A man police say posed as a law enforcement official was arrested Thursday after being caught on Pringle Street Elementary School grounds with a gun.
This was the second time he was there in the last three weeks, police say.
According to Kingston police:
Rashad A. Moore of Beverly Drive in Edwardsville entered the school on Jan 11. A witness said they held the door open for Moore, who pulled back his jacket and exposed his gun. The witness said they were afraid to say anything to Moore about the weapon.
Another witness told police that at about 9:20 a.m. Moore entered the kindergarten room and they spoke about school being dismissed early because of the weather. Moore opened his jacket and showed the witness a police-style belt and claimed he was a police officer in Newark, N.J.
He told school officials he was there for his stepson.
Superintendent Augie Piazza contacted police to file a complaint.
Officer Daniel Hunsinger began to run a background check and called the Newark police, who said they did not have an officer named "Rashad Moore." A criminal history check revealed police in Newark arrested Moore on charges of impersonating a public officer in October 2001, but the charges were dismissed for an unknown reason.
Moore wasn't arrested after being at the school with a gun, but at 11:30 p.m. the same day, officer Richard Kotchik of the Kingston police stopped Moore, who was driving a Ford Ranger on Main Street in Kingston. Moore told Kotchik he was a corrections officer at East Jersey State Prison and that he was "on the job" and was "one of us."
However, another record check by Jeffrey Poling of the East Jersey State Prison's Special Investigations Division showed Moore was never employed by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
Police arrested Moore on a charge of impersonating a public servant and several traffic violations.
On Thursday, a witness contacted police and said Moore was hanging around in the parking lot area of the school near the playground. Hunsinger arrived at the school moments later and began to question Moore.
He gave Hunsinger a business card for Sgt. Sayfullah Bashir of the New Jersey Shields Fugitive Task Force and claimed he worked for the agency.
Hunsinger found a .40 caliber handgun on Moore, who said he had it because he was a member of the New Jersey Shields Fugitive Task Force. He also told Hunsinger he had just left the shooting range.
The officer called Bashir, who said Moore had done some work as a private contractor, but when asked if Moore would carry a gun for the type of work he did Bashir said, "Absolutely not."
Moore took Hunsinger to his apartment. He said he had a permit to carry the gun but he failed to produce the proper paperwork.
Charges of possession of a weapon on school property, impersonating a public servant, firearms not to be carried without a license and disorderly conduct are being filed in the Jan. 11 incident.
It's unclear why charges were not filed when Moore first entered the school, and Kingston police did not return phone calls Friday.
In Thursday's incident, Moore was charged with possession of a weapon on school property, firearms not to be carried without a license and disorderly conduct. He appeared before District Justice Gerald Feissner and was taken to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on $7,500 bail.
Phone calls to the school were forwarded to Wyoming Valley West School District Superintendent Augie Piazza, who could not be reached for comment Friday.
One school board member said he was pleased with the faculty's response to Moore lingering in the parking lot Thursday.
"It's disturbing that somebody like that will come to a school," said Barry Williams. "These are the kinds of incidents when not handled incorrectly can lead to tragic results."
Another school board member disputed the Kingston police's claim that Moore gained entry into the school office on Jan. 11. Michael Barna said the information he received via e-mail from the district was that Moore did not enter the school during the first incident.
As for anything else, including whether Moore has a stepson in the school, he said he doesn't know. He also didn't know if parents were contacted about the report of Moore being on school property with a gun.
Staff reporter Ron Lieback contributed to this story.
