Former Chicago cop arrested for allegedly impersonating DEA agent, Travis Co. Sheriff's Office says
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Travis County Sheriff's Office arrested a former Chicago police officer Wednesday, alleging that the man had claimed to be an undercover federal agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency before assaulting an person, according to an arrest warrant.
According to the warrant, a county resident contacted TCSO on Tuesday to report that their son was assaulted by a "person claiming to be a peace officer" on Monday. The victim was at a smoke shop on FM 2222 when a man approached him and demanded his ID. When the man took the victim's ID, he claimed to be a cop and asked if the address was correct.
The victim returned home, where he again encountered the "cop" — who now claimed to be an undercover DEA agent surveilling the victim's home, according to the warrant. The "DEA agent" then took the victim's hat, necklace and wallet before making him sit in the back of his car, a grey Tesla.
The victim's father allowed the "DEA agent" into his home, where the "agent" allegedly identified himself as Dimitri Roberts, according to the warrant.
"The male told the [father] in lieu of arrest he would make his son do various other tasks," the warrant states. "The [father] then began to get skeptical so the male subject googled himself and showed the [father] various social media sites depicting himself as Dimitri Roberts."
After that, the warrant claims that the man returned to his car, took and threw the father's cell phone before slapping the victim's head. The man allegedly apologized for the blow and said he would get a search warrant.
The warrant states that the deputy investigating the case was able to use footage from a doorbell camera, which the deputy said shows the assault.
TCSO contacted Roberts on Wednesday. He allegedly told investigators that he did meet the victim at the smoke shop, took their ID and went to the victim's home, but "did not provide further details."
Dimitri Nakai Roberts, 44, was charged with one felony count of impersonating a public servant and one misdemeanor count of assault causing bodily injury.
"An extensive and thorough background [check] was done, which determined Roberts was a former Chicago Police officer until 2014," the warrant states. "Roberts is no longer employed there and is not a current federal agent or Texas commissioned officer."
KXAN looked at a profile on the social media website LinkedIn that matched Robert's time with Chicago Police. On that page, he claims to be a "Law Enforcement Analyst for CNN." We reached out to CNN on Friday, who told KXAN that while Roberts has appeared on-air, he's not a CNN contributor.
Roberts was released from custody on Thursday. At the time of publication, Travis County court records do not show an attorney assigned to his case.