A 64-year-old man from Port St. Lucie has been taken into custody for allegedly trying to pass himself off as an undercover police officer. William Dennis Milstead was apprehended by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) earlier this week after accusations surfaced that he claimed to be an FDLE agent in order to sidestep a background check for leasing a residential property. According to CBS12, Milstead stated he worked "off-grid," thereby exempting him from standard screening processes.
The FDLE's investigation was apparently initiated when a real estate company became suspicious of Milstead's identity claims. To enhance his credibility, he allegedly provided a fraudulent letter to the rental agent, which was later discovered to possess numerous grammatical errors. "Credit and Background checks are easily obtain in the criminal world and could have negative consequences for the names listed or associated in these checks," the letter contained, as noted by WPBF News. Milstead's strategy to avoid a background check was soon uncovered as deception, leading to his arrest.
Further investigation revealed that this was not Milstead's first encounter with the law for such activities. His criminal history includes 13 prior felony arrests, with past charges for impersonating a police officer dating back to 2002 and as recent as 2016. These details were brought to light during a background check by FDLE.
Milstead was taken into custody and has been charged with falsely impersonating a police officer, making a false statement to obtain property, and using a two-way communication device to perpetrate a felony. Despite the seriousness of these charges, he was released from St. Lucie County Jail after successfully posting bond. The case against Milstead is actively being pursued by the FDLE. This latest run-in with the law underscores a pattern of deception by Milstead to apparently sidestep the legal and social systems put in place to protect individuals and institutions from potential harm.
