Davenport man charged with impersonating law enforcement

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - A Davenport man was arrested Friday after police say he impersonated an ATF agent in February.

Craig Edward Weber, 56, is charged with possession of a short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun, a Class D felony punishable by five years in prison; three counts of impersonating an officer, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by two years in prison; and false imprisonment, a serious misdemeanor.

Court records show he was released on his own recognizance. He has a preliminary hearing on March 31.

According to an arrest affidavit:

Around 12:50 a.m. Feb. 8, a state trooper conducted a traffic stop on a red Ford Escape for driving 75 mphs in a 55 mph zone on I-74 westbound at the Lincoln overpass.

Weber was identified as the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle. He told troopers that he knew he was speeding and that he was an ATF agent out of the Quad Cities.

He added he has been an agent for the last five years. Weber had no identification on him and said “everything” was at his house. He also provided a badge number.

The ATF headquarters and the Quad Cities office confirmed Weber is not and has never been an agent.

A follow-up investigation found that in September 2019, Weber was stopped at the I-74/Lincoln overpass for speeding and a front window tint.

When an officer came back to the vehicle, Weber had a tactical vest with an ATF patch sitting in the front passenger seat. He did not have police identification, and told police his window was tinted to hide his gear.

Police believed he was an ATF agent at that time.

In another incident, Weber pulled over a vehicle for speeding. by turning on red and blue lights at East Kimberly Road and Elmore Avenue.

He called 911 and said he was an off-duty ATF unit and the driver he pulled over was drunk.

The driver who was stopped by Weber confirmed he was stopped by a vehicle using red and blue lights and that Weber was wearing all-black clothing wearing a shiny badge on his chest while holding a flashlight.

The driver said he felt he could not leave the scene because he believed Weber was a real officer. The driver was held on the side of the road for at least 19 minutes before Weber left.

Police searched Weber’s vehicle on Friday and found a black ASP expandable baton in the driver’s door pocket. A double magazine pouch with loaded magazines were found inside the center console.

Police also found a police scanner-style radio in the center console.

A search of his home turned up a fully equipped black tactical west with an ATF police patch on the front and back, several police duty belts, along with a large variety of law enforcement-style belt attachments, and numerous scanner radios.

Officers also found a black Sig Sauer duty belt holster next to the ATF vest. Weber admitted he used a green Sig Sour 9mm Serial that was fully loaded in that exact holster.

Weber also had multiple LED “undercover” lights and equipment to outfit a vehicle. A short barrel Spring Field Saint was located inside an safe. Weber does not have any paperwork or federal tax stamp for the short-barreled rifle.

Weber denied telling any police officer he was an ATF agent, according to the affidavit.

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