A man who flashed a badge and claimed he was a retired officer has been hit with false imprisonment charges for allegedly trying to detain two teenage girls against their will outside a rural church.
The man, Claude Eugene Foster, 81, has been charged with the misdemeanor crime of false imprisonment which carries a maximum year in jail. He will face hearing Sept. 5 before General Sessions Judge Bill Locke.
His charge comes for an incident earlier this year where he reportedly approached two teen girls, ages 16 and 17, when they attempted to turn their vehicle around in the parking lot of Sunny Hills Baptist Church in the early evening hours.
“They were approached by an older, white male driving a dark, blue truck,” said sheriff’s investigator Travis Thaxton. “He approached the vehicle and asked what they were doing.”
When the teen driver said they were just turning around, the elderly man questioned her story.
“He stated that people don’t just turn around in a church parking lot,” Thaxton recalled the victim’s version of events. “He then pulled out a star-type badge and stated he was a retired police officer. He then asked to see her driver’s license.”
The girls said Foster then went to his vehicle and acted like he was talking on a police radio. “He pretended to call using a hand-held microphone with a black cord,” the investigator said.
Foster returned and asked for the driver's cellphone, which she was using to call her mother.
“When she stated no, they attempted to leave the parking lot,” the investigator revealed. “Claude Foster jumped in front of their vehicle, telling them to stop. As they passed by him, he began to strike their vehicle with his fist, shouting at them.”
Thaxton said he contacted Foster for his side of the story. “He admitted he was, in fact, the person that encountered the two girls,” the investigator said. “And, that while doing so, pulled a badge and identified himself as a retired officer.”