Officials have confirmed that the seizure of a firetruck in the Pacific Palisades near Brentwood on Wednesday is indeed connected to a man who was arrested for impersonating a law enforcement officer in the Inland Empire two years ago.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to KTLA that the investigations, both of which involved the fictional Santa Muerte Fire Department, are related, but details of that relationship will be left to the FBI to disclose, as they are now handling the investigation.
Multiple sources told KTLA’s Kimberly Cheng that the person arrested in the 100 block of South Rockingham Avenue on Wednesday was Steve Farzam.
Farzam, who turns 47 years old on Monday, faces 28 criminal counts on charges like impersonating a fire officer, carrying a loaded and unregistered gun in a vehicle, and perjuring himself, including to the Department of Motor Vehicles, according to a criminal complaint provided by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The last charge is likely connected to the firetruck’s registration, which lists the fictitious department as its owner. A neighbor told KTLA that the truck has been parked there for years and would be taken to community events.
Farzam has previously been accused of pretending to be law enforcement, including an FBI agent, as reported by Atavist.
Farzam is also accused of shining lasers at aircraft multiple times, including commercial planes carrying passengers.
It’s unclear how Farzam could be connected to the 2023 incident, in which the then-42-year-old Andrew De Boer of Chino Hills was arrested for illegally conducting a traffic stop while portraying himself as an arson investigator for the fake fire department.
He was charged with impersonating an officer and false imprisonment.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said he pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment charge, a felony, on April 10 of this year and was sentenced to two years of felony probation, which is expected to end on April 9, 2027.
Travis Schlepp and Nidia Becerra contributed to this report.
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