By Jillian Jorgensen Staff Writer The Gloucester Daily Times Mon Mar 07, 2011, 11:59 PM EST
A Manchester man liked U.S. marshals so much he pretended to be one — until he wound up in their custody, authorities say.
Eric Williams, 28, pretended to be a U.S. marshal to impress women and get discounted rates at hotels, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Boston.
Williams carried an Air Soft pistol, a realistic imitation gun he purchased in Salem, N.H., and used a credit card stolen from a New Hampshire woman to buy an SUV in Derry, N.H., according to the records.
He is charged with five counts of false personation of a federal officer and one count of possession of an official badge, which he told authorities he bought on eBay.
Williams, whose most recent address is the Cape Ann town of Manchester, according to the Marshals' Service, came to the feds' attention after a Dedham woman told police he stole a check from her and used it to take $700 out of her bank account, according to an affidavit written by Supervisory Deputy Marshal Jeffrey Bohn.
"The Dedham victim reported that the defendant told her that he worked for the U.S. Marshals Service; that he drove a black or dark blue Ford Explorer equipped with police emergency lights; and that she had seen him with what appeared to be a gun on his waistband, although she was not sure that it was a real gun," Bohn wrote.
Williams was arrested on outstanding warrants from Lawrence District Court, and was met by U.S. Marshals at the Norwood police department.
He waived his Miranda rights, according to the affidavit, filed Jan. 26.
Williams told authorities "he was fascinated by the U.S. marshals and had wanted to be (a) U.S. marshal since he was a kid," Bohn wrote.
About a month earlier, Williams told police he had gone online and bought a wallet, badge, ID, parking permit, key chain, certificates and other items bearing the U.S. marshals insignia. He purchased them with a credit card he stole from a former landlord in New Hampshire, according to the document.
He also used the card to buy an Air Soft pistol in Salem, N.H., police lights for his Ford Explorer in Manchester, N.H., and the Ford Explorer itself, according to the affidavit.
Williams bought the SUV for $4,995 in Derry, N.H., and told the dealership the credit card belonged to his mother and she had allowed him to use it.
A dealership employee spoke to Williams's "mother" on Williams's cell phone.
"The defendant said that, in fact, a woman who had come to the dealership with (Williams) was waiting in a vehicle out in the parking lot and played the role of his 'mother,'" Bohn wrote.
Williams told police he "did what people do on the show 'Manhunters'" when he was pretending to be a marshal, referring to a reality TV show about U.S. marshals.
Williams showed his badge to women, he told police, but never took the Air Soft pistol out of his waistband. He also identified himself as a U.S. marshal to get the reduced government rate at the Residence Inn in Norwood and the Holiday Inn in Sharon, according to the indictment.
Williams also admitted to stealing a check from his aunt's checkbook in Walpole and writing himself a check for $2,800, stealing a check from another woman and cashing it for $600, and stealing $700 from the Dedham woman, according to the affidavit.
Williams appeared in Dedham Court on Jan. 27, but was released because the court was not aware of all his outstanding warrants, according to the affidavit.
A court clerk asked Williams to wait, but he left and went to the home of the woman in Dedham from whom he was accused of stealing.
The woman locked her door and called police. Using a dog, authorities tracked Williams to the Dedham Library, where he was talking to a woman online, according to the document.
The U.S. marshals are now keeping Williams in custody as a pretrial detainee, according to court documents. No address for Williams is listed in court documents.
Staff writer Jillian Jorgensen may be contacted at jjorgensen@gloucestertimes.com.
Copyright 2011 GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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