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Lorain Police arrest fake cop with pellet gun

Posted at 5:44 PM, Jun 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-24 06:42:37-04

Lorain Police officers arrested a man pretending to be one of them.

Witnesses saw Wilbert Clayton, 18, shortly before midnight on Friday walking through an alley behind their backyard off Reid Avenue near West 28th Street.

The couple who spotted him says Clayton was dressed in all black.

"We're just chilling out, enjoying the night," the husband said.

He says he and his wife were enjoying drinks by a campfire with their friends in the backyard when they noticed Clayton.

The couple, who does not wish to be identified, says he had a gun. Police later determined his gun as a realistic-looking pellet gun.

"He was walking through the abandoned house, and he was like, going like this," the husband said, showing how Clayton was waving his gun.

He said his friend then questioned Clayton, who claimed to be a Lorain Police Officer. This caused the couple who lives at the house to be suspicious. They say Clayton seemed too young to be a police officer. They also noticed he was walking erratically and did not have a flashlight, even though he was pretending to be conducting a search.

The husband said he urged his wife to call police.

Officers searched the area around 11:50 p.m. Thursday night and found Clayton walking through a nearby parking lot.

Officers set up a perimeter and used a K9 unit to track Clayton to an alley. The K9 officer also located a pellet gun on the ground in the parking lot.

Police also found a bag containing chips, ice cream and cigars purchased at a nearby Dairy Mart. Police say Clayton also claimed to be a police officer at the convenience store.

Clayton was later arrested nearby in his group home. He has been charged with impersonating a police officer and obstructing official business.