Man charged with pretending to be cop, tangling with Banning police officers
A 40-year-old man accused of pretending to be a federal lawman and then turning confrontational with Banning police officers, trying to take one's firearm, was charged today with obstructing a law enforcement officer and other offenses.
Hector Francisco Ponce of Banning was arrested Tuesday night following a Banning Police Department investigation.
Along with the obstruction count, Ponce is charged with presenting false credentials to a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail at the Smith Correctional Facility and was slated to make his initial court appearance Friday afternoon at the Banning Justice Center.
According to police, shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday, witnesses called 911 to report a ``suspicious subject'' in the parking lot of a business in the 300 block of South Highland Springs Avenue, just south of Interstate 10.
The man, later identified as Ponce, was ``standing near a vehicle with red and blue flashing lights,'' according to an agency statement.
Several patrol units went to the location, and officers encountered the defendant, who initially identified himself as an FBI agent, showing false documents purporting to establish his status, police alleged.
"During the contact, the male became uncooperative and fought with officers,'' according to the agency statement, which alleged he grabbed for one's sidearm.
After a brief struggle, officers wrestled Ponce into custody. No one was injured, police said.
It was unclear what the defendant was trying to do when he parked at the business with the light bar engaged on his vehicle.
Ponce has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
