The young lady was cruising a stretch of state highway most refer to as “the gauntlet.”
The nickname refers to the fact that law enforcement from Benwood and McMechen often patrol the north and south roadways between Glen Dale and Wheeling to monitor speed and penalize motorists guilty of exceeding the limits.
“I know people complain about it, but it is a pretty straight stretch and there aren’t many roads in our area like that other than the interstate,” said Marshall County Sheriff Bill Helms. “And hey, if it slows people down, that’s fine with me because more accidents happen because of speed and not being able to stop quick enough.”
But, on December 2, the young lady reported to resource officers at John Marshall High School that a Hispanic motorist driving an unmarked, four-door sedan with Florida license plates and a red globe light on its front dash pulled her over near noon the day before while she was traveling southbound on WV Route 7 between Benwood and McMechen.
The juvenile female explained the driver was wearing what appeared to be a fake police badge around his neck.
Helms reported the incident on River Talk Radio and all law enforcement agencies were put on alert, but, unfortunately, Helms did not receive any reports of sightings.
“I believe the motorist was a volunteer firefighter from wherever he lives and he tried something,” Helms said. “And then I think he got of dodge because the juvenile female drove off and he couldn’t pursue because he would have attracted too much attention.
“After that, I think he got out of the area pretty fast because he had to know we would have eyes looking for him in every corner of the valley,” the sheriff said. “We’re just happy the juvenile did what she did because not everyone that age would have. It could have been a very tragic situation.”
Marshall County Commissioner John Gruzinskas, a 25-year retired West Virginia Trooper and a two-term sheriff, said fake cop reports are alarming because most individuals simply follow orders when pulled over by law enforcement.
“If it was the guy’s fake badge that gave him away, then good for her,” he said. “I was pleased with the amount of attention law enforcement gave it once the information was shared by our Sheriff’s Office because of the seriousness of that situation.
“I don’t remember anything similar happening around here during my career, but I know I’ve heard about it in other areas of the country and the end of those stories never ended happy,” he added. “I’m really happy this situation ended the way it did because it could have been a very different story.”
