Accused cop impersonator sentenced to prison

UPDATE @3:39 p.m. Aug. 12

Jason Harrold has been sentenced to four years in prison after he was convicted of impersonating a police officer to commit crimes.

He was accused of dressing as an officer and identifying himself as a Dayton police officer March 7 to rob victims staying at the Ramada Inn in Harrison Twp.

UPDATE @ 4:35 p.m. July 15

Jason Harrold, 35, was found guilty as charged today for allegedly impersonating a police officer to commit crimes.

He was convicted of two counts of impersonating a police officer and one count each of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and abduction, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. announced in a release issued today.

Harrold is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 5.

The case against co-defendant Nikole Reigelsperger is pending. However, a third co-defendant, Jacob Reigelsperger, also will be sentenced Aug. 5. He was convicted July 9 for possession of cocaine, aggravated possession of drugs and possession of heroin, according to the prosecutor’s office.

UPDATE @ 3:30 p.m. March 27

Jason Harrold was indicted Friday along with Jacob Reigelsperger, 28, and Nikole Reigelsperger, 29, for crimes involving impersonating a police officer.

Harrold is accused of dressing as an officer and identifying himself as a Dayton police officer March 7 to rob victims staying at the Ramada Inn in Harrison Twp., according to a release from Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr.

Two days later, all three suspects allegedly robbed a person at the Reigelpergers’ home on Burgess Avenue in Harrison Twp. Harrold again dressed as an officer and said he was a Dayton police officer, according to the prosecutor.

Harrold was indicted by a county grand jury today on two counts of impersonating a police officer and one count each of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and abduction.

Jacob and Nikole Reigelsperger were each indicted on single counts of aggravated robbery, possession of heroin, possession of cocaine and aggravated possession of drugs.

All of the counts, except for the drug charges, include firearm specifications.

All three are in the Montgomery County Jail, where bond for Harrold is $100,000, and is $150,000 for the Reigelspergers, online jail records show. They are scheduled to be arraigned March 31, according to the prosecutor’s office.

UPDATE @ 10:45 a.m. March 20:

Jason Harrold, 34, was arraigned Friday morning in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, where the judge set his bond at $100,000.

Harrold was captured this week in Kentucky. He was wanted in Montgomery County for allegedly impersonating a police officer to rob people.

Following his Monday arrest in Kentucky, Harrold returned on Thursday to Ohio. He was booked at 1:43 p.m. into the Montgomery County Jail on suspicion of five felony charges: two counts of impersonating an officer, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and abduction. He is next scheduled to appear in court March 30, online jail records show.

UPDATE @ 3:30 p.m. March 16:

Jason Harrold, 34, was arrested at a Kenton County, Kentucky, hotel by officers with the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Task Force.

Harrold is suspected of impersonating a police officer to rob people. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Harrold would wear a shirt with a police-type logo, duty belt and police-style boots, identify himself as a law enforcement officer so citizens would comply with his orders to hand over driver’s licenses and other items. He then would steal cash, credit cards and other valuables, deputies said.

Harrold, who once worked as a hotel security guard, confined his alleged crimes to Harrison Twp. near hotels and motels, deputies said.

SOFAST, a unit of the U.S. Marshal’s Office, did not release details of the arrest.

UPDATE @ 10:31 p.m.:

A man wanted for allegedly impersonating a police officer to rob people once worked as a security guard at the Ramada Inn on Wagner Ford Road.

Jason Harrold, 34, returned to the Harrison Twp. establishment, for his first robbery, in which the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said he posed as a Dayton police detective to steal wallets. He primarily has been targeting other criminals, deputies said.

Now, Harrold is a fugitive who may have gone to the Cincinnati area, and he is potentially violent, Sheriff Phil Plummer said.

“He’s known to the Dayton area. He knows some of the Dayton officers’ names. He actually handcuffed our second victim. We know he’s well armed, so he is a dangerous person in our community,” Plummer said.

FIRST REPORT

Deputies need the public’s help to find a man they say poses as a police officer to steal from his victims.

Jason Harrold is wanted on felony charges of impersonating a police officer and aggravated burglary, according to a news release from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

Harrold, 34, would wear a shirt with a police-type logo, duty belt and police-style boots and identify himself as a law enforcement officer so citizens would comply with his orders to hand over driver’s licenses and other items. He then would steal cash, credit cards and other valuables, according to the sheriff’s office.

Harrold’s alleged crimes were isolated to Harrison Twp., mostly near hotels and motels, deputies said.

Anyone with information about Harrold’s whereabouts is urged to call the sheriff’s office at 937-225-4357 or local police department.

The case remains under investigation.

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