Five men have been arrested and accused of posing as police officers looking for someone at a North Carolina motel, police said.
Gastonia police officers responded to a report at 1:10 a.m. of a possible burglary at a motel in the 1400 block of East Franklin Avenue involving five suspects who claimed to be law enforcement, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The officers determined the men weren’t officers and arrested them. The men used flashlights to look inside at least two motel rooms while announcing to any occupants that they were law enforcement, according to police, who also said one suspect had a handgun.
Each man is charged with impersonating a police officer, a misdemeanor. Gastonia Police Department spokesman Rick Goodale said investigators don’t know the motive for the five men, especially since one of them was armed.
The five men each were given a $2,500 unsecured bond, and Goodale said they have been released from jail. It’s not known if the men have attorneys.