HOUSTON – Liberty County Sheriff's Office investigators said a man may have posed as a deputy to try to get sexual favors from women during traffic stops.
Deputies said the man pulled a woman over for speeding off of FM 2518 at FM 2215 in Liberty County, Monday around 9 p.m.
"It was a black sports car looking automobile, similar to a Charger automobile," said Captain Ken DeFoor. "It had flashing lights on it, but no visible police markings on the vehicle."
DeFoor said the Hispanic man was in his late 20s to early 30s, about 220 pounds and 5 feet 10 inches, with dark hair, a stubble beard and light colored eyes.
Investigators said the suspect was wearing a dark blue or black uniform shirt that did not have any type of shoulder patches on the sleeves. The name "Merlin", or some variation of that spelling, was sewn on the left side of the shirt, underneath a star shaped badge that said "Harris County Sheriff's Department."
DeFoor said no law enforcement agency known to his office places the officer's name under the badge, but rather the name is placed on a metal plate pinned on the right side of the shirt over the pocket flap.
"The description that the complainant gave us does not match Harris County Department patrol officers, or any known agency in our own county," said DeFoor.
The woman said the man kept leaning deeper into her car and told her he could make the speeding ticket go away if she gave him sexual favors.
"Fortunately, about that time, another automobile drove up behind him and flashed their lights," said DeFoor.
He said it seemed to scared the supposed deputy off and allowed the woman to drive away unharmed.
Investigators said if you get pulled over by a car that appears to be unmarked, put you hazard lights on, drive to a well-lit area, like a store, gas station or fire department, and try to get the license plate numbers. If you know anything about the man in question,