Four men have been charged with impersonating a police officer this week in unincorporated West Chicago.
Corey Abendroth, Luke Halstead and Thomas Kozie, all 19, are each charged with five counts of impersonation of a peace officer, according to the DuPage County sheriff’s and state’s attorney’s offices. 22-year-old Khoung Dam also faces charges in the case.
Kozie, who lives in Oak Park, is accused of ringing the doorbell of a home near Morningside Avenue and High Lake Road at 10:03 p.m. on June 3 while wearing a suit and a badge on his belt, prosecutors said. He introduced himself as “Jeff Rushmore,” claiming to be an investigator with the Winfield Police Department working on a missing person case.
After speaking with the homeowner, he got into a car where Halstead and Abendroth were waiting and the four men drove off, the state’s attorney’s office said. They then went to multiple homes in West Chicago, Wheaton and Winfield and did the same thing.
Several residents called police to report the incidents, and some of the interactions with Kozie were recorded by video doorbells, authorities said.
They were arrested Thursday following an investigation led by the sheriff’s office and the Wheaton and Winfield police departments.
All four men appeared for a bail hearing Friday before Judge Jeffrey MacKay, who set bail at $35,000 for Kozie, $20,000 for Halstead and $7,500 for Abendroth, prosecutors said. Bond was set at $4,000 for Dam. His next court date is set for July 10, while Kozie’s next court date was set for July 11.
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Halstead, who lives in Winfield, is due back in court July 8, while Abendroth, who lives in Wheaton, is due back in court July 9, the state’s attorney’s office said.
