Crime & Safety
Man Impersonating Cop Patted Down Teens, Police Say
St. Charles police charge Genoa man with impersonating officer.
A Genoa man has been charged with a felony count after St. Charles police alleged he patted down some teenagers while he impersonated a police officer, the Kane County Chronicle reported.
St. Charles Patch reported Tuesday the arrest of Skyler Charles Petrancosta, 21, of the 500 block of Jackson Street, Genoa, but police said then they had not concluded their investigation of the incident and were reluctant to release too many details.
The police arrest log showed Petrancosta was charged at 9:25 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013, at the St. Charles Police Department, 211 N. Riverside Drive, with impersonating a peace officer. His bail was set at $15,000. He posted $1,500 bond and was released pending an Oct. 10, 2013 court appearance.
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Police told the Chronicle that Petrancosta approached a group of teenagers on Aug. 31 in the parking lot of Davis School, 1125 S. 7th St., and identified himself as a narcotics officer working undercover.
He then patted down the children, the Chronicle reported. Petrancosta then reportedly ordered the children to leave, and they told a parent, who called police.
Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
St. Charles police obtained an arrest warrant on Sept. 26, and Genoa police took him into custody and turned him over to St. Charles authorities, the Chronicle reported.
Impersonating a police officer is a felony punishable by probation to as much as three years in prison.
- Read the complete Kane County Chronicle story for more details.
Editor's note: This story originally stated that "children" were patted down, but police on Thursday, Oct. 3, said it was in fact a group of teenagers.
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