Man Charged With Impersonating A Firefighter, Making Up A Fake Fire Department, And More

Sure, you tin buy a utilized occurrence truck, but you can't dress to beryllium a firefighter erstwhile you're not. You particularly can't dress up a clone occurrence section and usage it to register vehicles, summation entree to restricted areas, and different activities that Steve Farzam is accused of doing.

Numerous rule enforcement agencies raided Farzam's location successful Brentwood, California past week, reports ABC7. Among nan galore finds was a 1986 Pierce occurrence motortruck pinch occurrence harm and covered successful ash. It had a California exempt licence plate, typically reserved for authorities agencies, and registered to nan fictitious Santa Muerte Fire Department. Farzam is charged pinch entering restricted areas of nan Palisades Fire utilizing clone credentials, claiming to beryllium an arson investigator. Other charges see assaulting a first responder, carrying a loaded unregistered handgun successful a vehicle, and discharging a laser astatine an aircraft.

ABC7 caught grounds of nan laser complaint connected video, arsenic its ain chopper was 1 of nan targets on pinch rule enforcement and commercialized aircraft. Prosecutors utilized this footage not only to archive nan laser onslaught but besides to place nan conveyance from which nan laser came, visible successful nan video arsenic ABC7 tracked it. The licence sheet traced backmost to a car that Farzam's edifice had rented, which led officials to make nan relationship to Farzam himself. He faces a full of 28 charges, 23 of which are felonies, and has pleaded not guilty. Farzam is being held without bail.

Although the occurrence motortruck was registered to nan Santa Muerte Fire Department, nary specified entity exists. There is besides nary municipality of Santa Muerte. It does person a website. The telephone number listed location is active, and nan automated attendant identifies arsenic nan Santa Muerte Fire Department. However, nan thoroughfare reside listed successful El Centro, California, is really a portion mall, not a occurrence station. Domain registrant accusation for nan website is private.

FireRescue1 reports that this is not nan first clip officials person heard of this clone occurrence department. In July 2023, Andrew De Boer was arrested for mendacious imprisonment and impersonating a rule enforcement officer, utilizing a conveyance marked pinch Santa Muerte Fire Department decals. It is unclear whether location is immoderate relationship betwixt De Boer and Farzam.

Fans of "Breaking Bad" (which had immoderate of the champion cars connected television astatine nan time) whitethorn retrieve nan Salamanca twins crawling to a shrine of Santa Muerte, worshipping, and leaving a image of Heisenberg arsenic an offering. Santa Muerte, which virtually translates to "Saint death," aliases much eloquently "Our Lady of nan Holy Death," is a Mexican people saint with astir 10 cardinal followers. It's surely not a sanction I tin ideate immoderate life-saving service, specified arsenic a occurrence department, choosing to subordinate itself with. Perhaps that's nan irony present since it blends nicely pinch galore California towns and cities pinch akin Spanish names.